


"I'll Take My Heart Clean Apart If It Helps Yours Beat"

by LittleMissAgrafina



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, And gives his many parental figures grey hairs, Blood, But not enough to tag her as a character i think, But only in one instance, Character Death, Dissociation, Douche uncle Ben, F/M, Fainting, Febufluff 2020, Female Peter Parker, Gen, Goodbyes, Gunshot Wounds, Helen Cho has a few appearances in this, Hugs, I blame my own experiences and Kelly Clarkson for that one, I combined some of the prompts that's why thrre are only 26 chapters, I really did do a prompt for everyday, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Irondad, Italian Tony Stark, Its just before the wedding, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Mental Health Issues, Morgan Stark (mentioned) - Freeform, Nicknames, Nightmares, Pepperony - Freeform, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has wings, Peter has no self preservation, Peter has wings, Pranks, Pre wedding?, Self-Harm, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Spideychelle, Stabbing, Tags and trigger warnings at the beginning of each chapter, That explains itself i think, That instance was because of Skip Westcott, The final chapter is inspired by Snarkymuch, There isn't actually a wedding, There will be fluff too, Violence, Weddings (but not really), Whump, Wings, and he gets one, dark!peter parker - Freeform, febuwhump 2020, heatstroke, idk - Freeform, parkner, sorry - Freeform, spiderson, there is fluff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 23,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22515295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissAgrafina/pseuds/LittleMissAgrafina
Summary: Peter didn't know that death existed.He was too young to understand the trials and heartache brought with it.But he would find out all too soon.~My take on the febuwhump/febufluff 2020 prompts.Tags will be updated as I add chapters
Relationships: Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener/Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man)/Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 131
Kudos: 204





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I'm back again with this years febuwhump/febufluff! This is my first time writing this much consecutively and I'm still not happy with some of the chapters that I have so far, but I thought I'd get this out anyway. This is my second time ever writing fanfic and I would love to be told what you guys think!
> 
> Kudos and comments are my diet♡
> 
> (Some of these will contain unhappy endings and some will be Endgame compliant. Most of them are in some universe where IW never happened so take that as you will)
> 
> Tags: Major character death

Peter didn't know that death existed. 

He was too young to understand the trials and heartache brought with it.

But he would find out all too soon.

-

He had only been staying with uncle Ben and aunt May for a day when they came to him. 

It was while he was playing with his Legos, as soon as they entered the room he knew something was wrong.

"Sweetheart," May started with tears in her eyes. "Something happened with your mom and dad, they-" she felt her throat tighten.

Peter's lips wobbled as Ben crouched in front of him. "Peter, there was a problem with your mom and dad's plane. They aren't gonna come, home baby." He continued for May, knowing he had to tell Peter what he could.

The only reaction from the child was a sob before he rushed into their arms.

As they tried to comfort him between them, their eyes met over his curls and a silent promise formed in a single glance.

Love and protect their boy who had lost so much.

-

  
  


May didn't know what to do…

She didn't know how to help Peter, how to comfort him. It had been different with his parents. He hadn't had as many memories and hadn't quite realised that they wouldn't come back.

It was the opposite with Ben. They were so close and they understood each other in a way that May would have been jealous of she didn't also have a closeness with Peter.

That's what made it hurt so much more… knowing she won't be able to provide Peter with what he and Ben had.

When she found out that he had held his uncle as he bled out, as he died… she felt something break in her. And she knew that he lost more than just another person he loved, that he lost a part of his childhood innocence as well. She hoped that she could protect him from more loss and pain. 

She didn't want to listen to the voice that said his pain was only just beginning, she drowned it out by hugging Peter close with a whispered "It's gonna be ok. We'll be ok. I love you so much, sweetheart."

-

It turns out that the next thing Peter lost wasn't another person he loved, wasn't Ned or MJ, it wasn't even a civilian during his patrols.

Peter lost  _ himself _ . He lost to a mad titan, something he hadn't even known existed! 

But then again, maybe he should have known not to think anything was impossible. I mean, he'd had enough proof of it anyway. An alien invasion, killer robot's, radioactive spider, that weird guy from Germany who suddenly grew 20 feet, hell, Iron Man co-parented him with May.

But none of that changes the fact that he was there with those cool people from space one second, and then slowly everyone was turning to dust the next.

"It was the only way." The wizard dude said to Mr. Stark before he too faded away.

That was when he felt it. A horrible feeling like spiders were crawling up his spine. It was the only warning before the pain hit him. He was being torn apart, so he turned to the one thing he could trust.

"Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good," Peter chokes out, stumbling into Tony's arms, immediately being cocooned in his embrace. "I don't wanna go, sir. Please, I don't wanna go." 

Peter felt is strength flee and starting falling but Mr. Stark just slid down with him, cradling his head and looking at Peter with a broken fearful expression. He looked frozen as if not even a whisper of breath could leave him.

But Peter knew, he knew what was trying to be said. He knew because he was trying to say it too.

"I'm sorry that we didn't have more time."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you all that I wanted so badly to." 

"I'm sorry that I brought you into all this." 

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you."

"You're mine even without the blood to prove it."

"I love you."

It all passed between them in the final seconds of eye contact.

"I'm sorry." Came Peter's final whisper before he too was dust in the wind. 

Leaving Tony feeling as if he had lost a piece of himself.

-

There was fire and smoke and destruction.

Bodies lay silent, never to move again. 

Ashes and the smell of smoke filled the air, making it hard to see and breathe.

Tony would see flashes of those thought long lost throughout the battle. As he turned to face another enemy's attack, he only hoped that the missing piece of him, the piece he'd lost those five long years ago, was safe in all the chaos.

He couldn't let himself be distracted by it though. He had to concentrate or risk not being reunited with his loved ones.

He didn't turn in time for the colossal alien coming at him from behind.

That was when he saw it. A blur of red, blue, and gold. The Iron Spider.

It was as if time slowed down. He couldn't believe that this was finally happening. His son was right in front of him, and he was  _ real _ . He wasn't dust on the wind.  _ He was real. _

Peter opened his mouth and the rambling that Tony had missed oh so much was back. His bright eyes widening in confusion as the billionaire approached him, still saying nothing but look at Peter and slight disbelief. He relaxed when Tony did nothing but silently pull him into a hug, and 'Oh, this is nice' he thought as a felt a kiss against his cheek.

-

  
  


It was as if time had decided to take revenge, for the rest of the battle happened too fast. It was a blur of sand, smoke, explosions, and screaming.

The gauntlet passing between enemy and ally alike. That was when it passed to Thanos, and everything stopped, "I am inevitable." He said, cold fear slicing through the hearts of many.

A hollow snap echoed across the destroyed compound, the Titan twisting the empty gauntlet around in confusion.

Peter immediately knew what had happened. He turned and hoped against hope that he was wrong.

But there Tony was, kneeling and lifting a glowing arm. 

"And I… am… Iron Man." Came his breathy voice, even through the pain he was strong.

He brought his fingers together, and he snapped.

-

  
  


As Peter watched the reactor and flowers float away, memories echoed in his head. Memories of lab days and movie nights. Of smiles and laughs at his jokes and quips. Of tools passed silently between them without needing to ask. Of ice cream as a reward for a good grade. Of Tony picking him up from school or his apartment when he could. 

In every memory, there was a remnant of Tony, and Peter didn't know how he was going to live without him… without his dad. Because that's what Tony was, he was his dad. He was too young to remember his father, and as much as they had loved each other, Ben could only be his uncle.

Peter felt different after Tony. He felt like something inside of him was missing. He knew that this time, he wouldn't heal from it as he had with his parents and Ben.

He knew that he would forever be left with the aching feeling of loss.

And in a way, it comforted him. For he knew that he would always be reminded of his father, of Ben, and of Tony, his dad. 

Loss had become his friend.

He welcomed it with open arms.

-

Peter knew all too well that death existed.

He was familiar with the trials and heartache brought with it.

Death called to him.

He could hear her voice.

He thought she was to claim his life.

What she desired was so much worse.

  
  
  
  
  
  


-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna give a big shout out to my babes @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow
> 
> They have encouraged and helped so much! I cannot thank you guys enough for sticking with my bad writing! Love you guys!  
> (And thank for the help with the ideas and title!)


	2. Rainy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not really happy with this but the absolute darling Scooter3scooter encouraged me a lot when she read it so here goes!
> 
> Tags: Fluff. That's it
> 
> Also, this is super short and I apologise for that

The rain didn't usually bother Penny, in fact, she usually quite liked the rain. Which made the situation all the more amusing for Tony.

Penny was staying at the lake house with the Starks while May was away with Happy.

Don't even get her started on that, she loved them, but she really didn't need to know any more than the fact that they were together. Because, ya know, ew.

"C'mon kid. It's really not that bad," Tony waved a hand to a grumpy Penny, who was watching the rainfall from her perch on the window seat, with a pout. "I mean, we've been wanting to carry on watching The Mentalist for a while now, and I can't exactly just turn the rain off." He said with a teasing smile.

"But I wanted to be outside! I wanted to show you this new circus trick that Lila taught me last week." That was another thing that amused Tony. The instant friendship between the Barton family (who had moved to the property next to the Stark's lake house a year ago) and Penny.

"Pen, you can show me anytime. You and May practically live here already."

She huffed a breath before relenting. She really didn't mind just cuddling and watching with Tony, she just found it difficult when things change and something out of her control happens. Like the rain with its stupid need to ruin her plans.

"Okay," she got up from her perch and walked to the chest they kept their blankets in. Grabbing the biggest one so her and Tony could share, she turned to him with a smirk, "But only if I can have the leftover pizza."

"You drive a hard bargain, dear spider child," He smiled. "How 'bout we split the pizza and I'll let you have some of the English Toffee frozen yogurt I hid from Pepper?" 

"Deal," Penny held out her hand and Tony shook it dramatically before tipping an imaginary hat to her, "Pleasure doing business with you."

"You're on couch cuddle fort duty while I get the pizza," Tony called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.

Penny threw a mocking salute to his back, "Yes boss!"

"I saw that kid!"

Her giggles followed him into the kitchen and he didn't bother trying to hide his smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a big shout out to my amazing friends @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow! I would not be able to do any of this without your support and friendship!
> 
> Ok so it's really freaking hard to write Penny Parker? Like wow. My admiration for Penny Parker writers has grown even more.
> 
> Like I said earlier, I really wasn't happy with this but I decided to just go for it. I'm not gonna learn any other way right?
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think in the comments!♡


	3. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I'm on time with all this so let's hope it stayes that way!  
> Hugs to @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow for being so helpful and amazing! You guys are the best!  
> (Btw go check out their works, they are stunning writers! @itsreallylaterightnow is doing a febuwhump that is total gourmet whump)
> 
> Tags: Nothing for this. Just some irondad fluff

A warzone. 

That's what this was. Or at least that's what it looked like to Tony. There were clothes  _ everywhere,  _ there was even a single sock stuck to the window and a shirt on the ceiling. How that happened he didn't know but there it was.

"Kid, what is going on here?" He asked before letting out a fond sigh, turning to try and spot the spider-child. "Ya know what? I don't really wanna know  _ how _ it happened. I just wanna know  _ why. _ " 

"I don't know what to wear and I can't find any of my ties. This is a disaster, Mr Stark!" Peter whimpered as his head popped up from the other side of his bed, a sock that matches the one on the window falling from his shoulder at the same time.

'Okay,' thought Tony 'I can work with this'

"Relax Pete," he said crossing the room and grabbing a dress shirt, "Put this on and follow me."

"Okay but why?" Peter responded, still frazzled.

"Because I'm gonna help you, duh." Tony threw the shirt at him as he walked out the door, turning down the hallway to his own room.

Much like a lost puppy, Peter pulled the shirt on and buttoned it as he followed after Tony.

As he entered the room he was beckoned by Tony to follow him to his walk-in closet (Peter still couldn't get his head around having so many clothes. Rich people are strange)

"Okay," Tony rubbed his hands together looking at Peter's shirt, which Peter only now realised was a deep red, before snatching a few ties to match against the shirt.

'At least it doesn't look too casual with my jeans' he thought, eyeing his reflection in the wall-length mirror. Because that's a thing too.

"In my opinion, you can wear jeans with a dress shirt and even a t-shirt with a suit jacket over it without looking too fancy or too casual," he discarded two of the ties, "All the while still being comfy. So relax, Kid. It's just MJ. The girl who wore an evening dress with converse to a charity gala. She isn't gonna care about what you wear." Tony answered him letting him know he'd thought out loud.

"Yeah but–" 

"No buts!" Tony interrupted, frowning at the ties in his grasp. "It's not an incredibly fancy restaurant so you really don't have to worry."

Peter supposed he was right. It wasn't really fancy or high end. He was just stressing. It isn't every day that you have a two year anniversary. And secretly, Peter knew that it was important to MJ even though she denied it because she wanted to go against the normal social expectations of couples. But whatever. He still loved her.

He was brought out of his musings by Tony's almost triumphant "Ah hah!"

Tony chucked the ties in his one hand over his shoulder, holding up a blueish-grey one that had a slight shimmer to it in the other hand. "C'mere, kid, " he waved Peter closer to the mirror. He propped up Peter's collar, looping the tie around his neck before expertly knotting it.

Peter smiled at him in thanks and Tony clapped a hand on his shoulder, letting it rest there as he smiled back.

"I'm proud of you, Peter." He said softly.

"Why? I haven't done anything." Peter asked in confusion. He hadn't done anything special in the lab recently and patrols had been quite too.

"I'm proud because you live life. You have gone through so much and you're still you. Does there have to be a specific reason for me to be proud of my kid now?" He teased softly.

"No, I guess not." Peter hugged him. They were almost the same height. Tony hoped Peter would stay this size so that he can still fold him in his arms like this. 

Tony pulled away, walking out of the room with Peter following behind again.

"I believe you have a date, Trouble?" He smirked at the boy.

Peter rolled his eyes at the name before sobering. "Thank you, Tony." He said earnestly as he grabbed a jacket, having just put his wallet and phone in his pocket.

Tony grinned. "Always, Kid." He answered as he watched Peter step into the elevator, doors closing behind him.

"Always." He repeated softly to himself as he turned towards the kitchen.

"Hey FRI," Tony called, "Play the Irondad playlist for me." Pepper would be home in an hour and he blamed the kid for making him sentimental.

He'd let it slide, however.

He had an omelette to make.


	4. Red Stains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi babes. This chapter is quite dark so please stay safe.
> 
> Tags: Dissociation, self-harm, blood, death.

"Peter,  _ Please!"  _ Tony begged him, eyes filled with concern and fear. "Talk to me, let me in, kid."

But Peter wouldn't even look at him, his entire body tense, as if he was a trigger waiting to be pulled. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." He mumbled, his empty voice only furthering Tony's concern.

Tony sighed, a hand lifting to rub over his face before sitting down on the bed next to Peter.

"You're not okay, Pete. You know that, I know that. Even Dum-E and U know it, it's why they've been bringing you those oil smoothies so much." 

He turned to Peter and grasped his chin gently, bringing his face up so that they were eye to eye. "Please," he repeated softly. "If you have to rage, if we have to go to the training room and beat stuff up, or even just sit and watch a movie. Please just do or say _ something _ ." 

And Peter so wants to open up, wants to trust and express  _ feel _ . He doesn't know how to explain what's wrong with him. How exhausted he is. 

He doesn't know how to say that red isn't the feeling of the sun or a cosy fire, that it isn't love or energy or strength anymore.

That it turned into danger, fear, madness, and  _ blood. _

He tries to but the words won’t come. Maybe there’s just nothing to say. Maybe it's all in his head and he made it all up.

He doesn't know what's real or what's not. He is a constant blank space and it  _ scares him.  _ The only time he feels is when his blood is running down his arms, when the red is a fire that doesn't feel of comfort or home. When it has a hint of lunacy and death.

He looks up into the sorrowful, terrified eyes of the billionaire, realising that he said it all out loud… and he shatters. Tears flooding his eyes and hands clenching until he feels the sting of his nails.

Then careful hands are curling around him, one around is his shoulders bringing him into a solid chest and the other is clasping his hands, gently loosening his tight grip.

"I believe in you," came the whispered voice of his mentor, "I believe that you can get past this and come out on the other side. You are strong, Peter Parker, and you will see it one day. I promise to  _ always  _ be here for you if I can… I won't leave you."

Peter just let himself be held, not saying anything.

He hoped it was true.

* * *

It wasn't true and Peter didn't know what to do. He thought back on everything that had happened. The field trip, the doughnut space ship over New York, the red-stained planet, aliens, wizards, the gauntlet, Thanos,  _ Mr Stark _ .

Then nothing. There was no time, no movement, no light. Nothing.

And then there was. 

There was the planet, the aliens, and the wizard.

No gauntlet or Thanos. But there was also  no Mr Stark.

The next thing he knew was that the wizard was telling him it had been five years. That they needed to help fight.

So he did. He fought, and fought, and fought.

He got to see a pegasus, Mrs Potts lead women into battle wearing a suit he'd only seen blueprints of. He saw the gauntlet and helped keep it away from the enemy. He got a hug from his teary-eyed, grey-haired mentor. He saw the wizard (who he heard was Dr Strange) hold back a wall of water.

He saw the one-fingered gesture and he knew.

Before he could do anything he heard the snap and then there was a blinding light.

Mrs Potts guided him away to Mr Rhodes. His heart freezing as he saw the arc reactor fade and heard a heart fall silent.

* * *

  
  


There were red flowers in the wreath.

Red that matched his arms.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Dance Under The Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I completely re-wrote this after a sudden obsession with a few musical soundtracks. I hope you guys like it:)
> 
> As usual, a ton of love for @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow! They are amazing and you should definitely check out their works!
> 
> Tags: nothing for this

MJ stood leaning against the railing of the porch, watching everyone talk and laugh over the music playing in the background. The warm light from the bonfire and lanterns scattered around the garden brightening their smiles and gestures.

  
  


"I didn't really know if we'd ever get this." 

  
  


"Get what?" Came the soft question from beside her.

  
  


MJ looked at the man next to her before gesturing to everyone. "This. Everyone here, together, and happy. Alive." She breathed out softly before continuing, "You and me. It's just nice I guess," She chuckled with a slightly nervous smile. "I don't know really, I guess I was just rambling."

  
  


Peter looked at her with sparkling eyes. "I get it. It's surreal. Feels like we missed being hit by a curveball of a tragedy. It is nice," he murmured, "That we actually can have all this. The happiness." He shifted to wrap his arms around her, kissing her head as he felt her smile into his shoulder.

  
  


"Hey Lovebirds! Stop being mushy and get over here!" Came Happy's voice followed by May's "Harold! Can you not see that they were having a moment?"

  
  


Peter let out a laugh before reluctantly pulling away. "Coming!" He called as he grasped MJ's hand as they walked towards the bonfire everyone was gathered around.

  
  
  
  
  


The next few hours consisted of marshmallows, pranks, laughter, a nerf bullet stuck to Clint's head courtesy of Natasha, and strangely enough, a duck sitting next to Morgan.

  
  


As the conversation started to lull into a comfortable silence Tony had FRIDAY up the volume of the music and a few of them hummed or sang quietly along with the songs.

  
  


May visibly perked up as the songs changed. The familiar opening to The Time Warp filling the air and Peter looked up at her in horror, immediately shaking his head. "May! Noooo! Please don't!" He practically begged his aunt just for her to ignore him (The traitor! She knew that he loved music) and pull him up with her. He reluctantly followed her to a more open space. She started dancing goofily next to him, bumping him with her hip to get him to follow. He slowly loosened and let himself move a bit with her. 

  
  


Just as the chorus started MJ jumped up and joined in next to him. Then it was like a flip switched and he lost his inhibitions, dancing with MJ as if they'd choreographed it (And if they'd danced to it enough on Just Dance that they remembered the moves? Well, nobody needs to know that).

  
  


Peter made the mistake of looking up at everyone just as they hit the pelvic thrust part.

Steve looked sufficiently gobsmacked. Bucky, Natasha, Clint, and Tony were laughing and clapping. The rest were watching in amusement and varying states of shock and surprise.

  
  


Peter shrugged it off and kept dancing. He was having fun and it was about time that they found out about his theatre side. At least The Cell Block Tango hadn't played. That was a song and dance for another time.

  
  


When the song finished, everyone clapped and cheered for the two of them - May having stopped dancing after MJ joined him because she was laughing too hard - and Tony couldn't hold it in anymore. 

  
  


"Where the hell did that come from kid?" He laughed.

  
  


"He's secretly a massive theatre and music nerd," MJ said for him, "He knows a whole bunch of dances."

  
  


Peter scoffed at her "As if you're not a theatre nerd too." 

  
  


She just looked at him before saying, "Don't expose me, Parker.

  
  


"Of course not, Love." He retorted before turning and smirking at Tony. "We've played, as well as sang, to tones of theatre music in the lab, how didn't you know?"

  
  


Tony held his hands up, "I plead the fifth." 

  
  


A slow song started playing and MJ suddenly pulled him towards the slight clearing they'd moved away from to talk to the others. "Come dance with me some more, Loser." She ordered him.

  
  


"Yes ma'am!" He pulled her into his arms as they swayed together.

  
  


May and Happy joined them, as well as Pepper and Tony.

  
  


Peter rested his cheek atop MJ's curls, looking around at his family. They were there and they were happy. He tightened his arms and let out a content sound, MJ doing the same.

He was happy, and he was home.

  
  
  



	6. "I Love You" "I Love You More"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a big shout out to my faves @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow for all their help and encouragement! I have so much love for you guys!
> 
> Tags: nothing for this one

It's a few hours after their latest mission and the team was looking forward to having a relaxing movie night (well, as relaxing as it can get with geniuses, enhanced humans, gods, and spies.)

  
  


What they walk into is the opposite of relaxing.

  
  


"Yes!" They hear as they exit the elevator, quickly followed by a "No!"

  
  


Peter and Tony are standing on opposite sides of a snack filled coffee table, both with creepily similar stances and stubborn expressions.

  
  


"Yes!" Peter says again.

  
  


"No!" Tony shoots back at him.

  
  


"Why can't you admit that Pepsi is better than Coke!?"

  
  


"I don't know… maybe because you're wrong?"

  
  


"No, I'm not! You're wrong!" 

  
  


"Have you forgotten the time that I got you a Coke at Burger King and you drank it without complaining?" Tony asks him. "Or what about last week when your blood sugar started dropping and you literally asked for a Coke?"

  
  


Peter groaned. "Because I still drink Coke. I just think that Pepsi is better than Coke!"

  
  


"Which it isn't!" 

  
  


"Is!"

  
  


"Isn't!

  
  


"IS!"

  
  


"ISN'T!"

  
  


"IS–" 

  
  


A sharp whistle had Tony and Peter's heads snapping towards where the team was still standing in front of the elevator.

  
  


"What!?" They snapped at the same time.

  
  


Steve moved forward. "Are you two seriously arguing about Coke and Pepsi of all things?"

  
  


Peter looked at Tony. "Well, we wouldn't be if he wasn't so stubborn about Pepsi."

  
  


"Oh, _I'm_ stubborn? That coming from the kid who was stabbed last week and refused to rest!"

  
  


"Well if you weren't so overprotective I wouldn't want to do push-ups on the ceiling from boredom!"

  
  


"If you weren't so idiotic for a genius I wouldn't be so overprotective!"

  
  


"Says that other idiotic genius!"

  
  


"Nerdoholic!"

  
  


"Workaholic!"

  
  


"Hobgoblin!"

  
  


"Nerf herder!"

  
  


"Blanket thief!"

  
  


"Couch hog!"

  
  


"Koala!"

  
  


"Is that even an insult or compliment!?"

  
  


"I don't know you're small, cute, and cuddly!"

  
  


"Stop shouting nice things at me!"

  
  


"No!"

  
  


"Why?!"

  
  


"Because I LOVE YOU!"

  
  


"WELL, I LOVE YOU MORE!"

  
  


Tony dropped onto the couch. "You can have your freaking Pepsi." He grumbled.

  
  


"Thanks." Peter grumbled back as he sat down next to him.

  
  


The team looked at each other slowly before shrugging and going to sit down. It still wasn't the weirdest thing to happen.

  
  


"What just happened?" Clint asked completely bewildered.

  
  


He never did get an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if you guys liked it or what you thought about it down in the comments! They literally make my day and encourage me to write more!  
> Hugs♡


	7. Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you guys like it!  
> Hugs to my babes @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow for their help and input on almost all of these prompts!
> 
> Tags: nothing for this one again

With Tony there were many before's and after's.

Before Rhodey and his parent's death. After Rhodey and their death.

Before Pepper and after Pepper.

Before Stane and Iron Man. After Stane and Iron Man.

But that was only the beginning.

  
  


* * *

  
  


There was Whiplash, Hammer, the idiot little boy who thought he could take on the drone.

The palladium. The redheaded, dead language speaking, spy. 

The party.

Iron Man yes. Tony Stark no.

The _cure._

And then there was even more.

  
  


* * *

  
  


There were Gods, capsicals, nukes, wormholes and phone calls.

Sacrifice plays and cutting wires.

There was before the Avengers and after the Avengers.

* * *

  
  
  


There was a panic attack.

There was a terrorist, his home being destroyed, snow, Tennessee, a kid named Harley.

The name of his autobiography and burning people.

Extremis.

Happy. Rhodey. Pepper. 

_Pepper._ Falling, he couldn't save her. She saved herself. She was badass that way.

A president, suits, fireworks and operations.

A screwdriver and a shrapnel necklace.

* * *

  
  
  


There were maniac robot's, Joburg, Hulk busters, Sokovia.

"He's fast and she's weird", lullabies, and hammers judging worthiness.

  
Farms, mini agents, wood, and tractors.

Fury, nightmares, and worst things.

Visions, cradles, suits of armour around the world, and endgames.

  
"You didn't see that coming?"

* * *

There were explosions, Wanda, breaks, Accords, and Peggy.

Plums, more explosions, king of Wakanda, books, and trigger words.

Tom Ford suits, guns, and Queens.

An airport, spiders, ants and falcons.

Really old movies, stay down or I'll tell Aunt May, escapes, laser beams, falling, and Rhodey.

Hospital's, anger, Zemo, Siberia, and dead super soldiers.

Barnes, Roger's, and a video.

"Did you know?" And "I didn't know it was him."

Arc reactors, shields, and mechanical arms.

A flip phone.

* * *

  
Tony never realised that all of his before's and after's were just one big before.

* * *

  
  


After that homecoming night, Tony vowed to not run from Peter anymore. He tried to distance himself and he still hurt the kid. He wouldn't let that happen again.

Should pats turned high fives, high fives to hair ruffles, which turned to arms slung over shoulders, then side hugs, and eventually full hugs.

Tony let himself soften and become happy and more open to touch. His days of only letting Pepper and Rhodey (sometimes Happy) touch him. Now instead of shying away from affection, he welcomes it. Greeting his loved ones went from verbal responses to hugs. Pepper got a kiss, Rhodey a bro hug, Happy a pat on the shoulder (Happy wasn't a touch person even if Tony now was.)

The kid got hugs, fist bumps, high fives, and complicated handshakes that he'd taught his mentor one afternoon when Pepper had banned them from the lab.

Even May got hugs or Italian cheek kisses when they saw each other.

Which is why it was so bizarre for the rouges seeing Tony after their eventual pardon.

It was like he was a completely different person.

Bruce (who Thor found through Heimdall's help) just smiled as he'd known all along.

It took them all a long time to get used to this new Tony. A Tony that they should have known was actually the _real_ Tony.

Eventually, they realised that it was because of a certain spider that Tony had become who he truly was.

Even though they weren't related by blood everyone knew they were father and son. 

And it was a thing worth celebrating because Tony was _happy._

And it was because of his family.

* * *

  
  


There _was_ a before and after, it just wasn't what Tony thought it was.

There was a before Peter Parker and an after Peter Parker.

And Tony would do it all again to have his son by his side forever.

All the pain, suffering, and heartache was worth it as soon as he saw Peter's smile the first time he truly hugged him.

A child's carefree smile could warm the coldest of hearts and exteriors after all.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you guys think! I love hearing your thoughts!♡


	8. Dark State of Mind (Part One)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda went into a zone writing this one, so I hope it comes across clearly like it did to me while I was writing it. My thought process was a little whack while I wrote this so yeah.  
> * loud screeching * go check out my babes @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow! They are the best and have brilliant works! 
> 
> Tags: dissociation, depression, intrusive thoughts, self-harm, suicide. Please be careful with this one my loves!!!

_Sound the bugle now_

_Play it just for me_

_As the seasons change_

_Remember how I used to be_

_Now I can't go on_

_I can't even start_

_I got nothing left_

_Just an empty heart_

_I'm a soldier wounded_

_So I must give up the fight_

_There's nothing more for me_

_Lead me away_

_Or leave me lying here_

* * *

  
  
  


Peter woke to fog. A thick, hazy, fog that made him feel heavy and like he was floating away at the same time. He woke up and he knew it was a grey day.

He hated grey days. They were the days where everything and everyone felt just out of reach. He constantly felt like he was drowning in the deepest, darkest part of the ocean only to suddenly feel as if he was floating in space, watching everything happen around him with no way of getting back down.

On grey days he hurt. His head, his body, his heart, everything hurt.

He knew he was lucky because on those days May or - if he was staying at the tower - Tony would know and would let him stay home. More often than not, one of them would stay with him, and if they couldn't then they had someone else, like Rhodey, Pepper, or even Happy, MJ, or Ned, stay with him.

It didn't always stop the thoughts. The dark, terrifying, _consuming_ thoughts. There wasn't always a way to stop them, sometimes he just had to ride it out and on those days the only person that could get through to him was Tony. But Tony was in Beijing after a sudden SI emergency there and wouldn't be back until later that night.

He knew that he should have called Tony or someone when the first few thoughts appeared. But he didn't and that was his downfall.

It was as if the thoughts took the darkest most hidden thoughts from him… and blew them up at the forefront of his mind. There wasn't a way to tune them out, there wasn't a miracle off button he could press, there was nothing.

He was stuck in a spiral of _you're not worth anything._

_You don't deserve May's love after killing her husband._

_Orphan._

_The only good thing you do is be Spiderman and you still screw that up._

_Ned isn't really your friend. He just hangs around because you're Spiderman._

_Tony only keeps you around to keep an eye on you so he doesn't have to feel responsible when you do something wrong again._

_Burden._

_Maybe if you weren't here your parents and Ben would still be alive._

_May wouldn't have to work so much if you weren't around._

_Tony wouldn't be woken up at night by his nightmares and spirals, nevermind injuries from patrol._

_Worthless._

_It would be so easy..._

_A step off the roof of the tower._

_Swallowing a bottle of the pills made to work with his metabolism._

_A web around his neck and letting himself drop from the tall penthouse ceilings._

_A knife from the kitchen to draw his life from his arms._

Peter felt himself get up from the couch in the living room as if he was in a trance.

He walked out to the kitchen, his hand finding the sharpest knife towards the back of the cutlery drawer.

Somewhere in the background, he heard a voice say something about not listening and alerting someone but it was quickly forgotten.

His body was still on autopilot, feeling like he was watching himself from the outside.

He felt himself walk out to the stairs leading to the upper floor of the penthouse where the bedrooms and bathrooms were.

All of a sudden he was in his bathroom sitting on the floor with his back against the side of the bath, looking down at his arm. Drops of red formed before flowing from the wounds, painting his skin in veins of red.

  
  


* * *

_Sound the bugle now_

_Tell them I don't care_

_There's not a road I know_

_That leads to anywhere_

_Without a light, I fear that I will_

_Stumble in the dark_

_Lay right down, decide not to go on_

* * *

  
  
  


It was like a flood when he came back to himself.

The feeling of the floor, the awareness of everything around him, the blade in his hand, it overwhelmed him.

'No no no! Please no!' He thought, 'I don't wanna go! I never really wanted to go, I wanted to stay! I need May and Tony. I can't do this!'

A broken sob fell from his mouth. "FRIDAY! Help me! Call Tony or- or May! Please! I didn't mean to do this! I don- I don't-" he couldn't get any words past the lump in his throat.

His vision started to darken and he didn't know if it was from the panic surging through him or from the blood loss. His head slumped against the bath behind him. The lure of sleep became stronger and he saw the door being blown open (when had he closed, never mind locked, the door?), pieces of wood and metal from the lock falling to the floor.

"Fuck! No please no!" He heard a voice cry out in terror. He knew that voice. "Don't do this to me, Peter! Don't leave me, Kid!" He felt himself being lifted into strong arms, head lolling against a firm chest. A soft light near his head that he couldn't make sense of. 

"Please stay awake. Don't close your eyes. C'mon, Pete, please!" The same familiar voice from earlier sobbed.

It was the last thing he heard as he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

  
  
  


_Then from on high_

_Somewhere in the distance_

_There's a voice that calls_

_Remember who you are_

_If you lose yourself_

_Your courage soon will follow_

_So be strong tonight_

_Remember who you are_

_Yeah_

_You're a soldier now_

_Fighting in a battle_

_To be free once more_

_Yeah, that's worth fighting for_

  
  



	9. Sickfic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took some creative liberty with this one and changed it to Penny having her period instead of a true sickfic. Sorry lol I just could not get into the mindset for the usual sickness tropes.
> 
> Anyway, I love @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow 3000 and they are legends.
> 
> Tags: nothing for this... period mentions but it's not graphic soooo

Happy Hogan watched as Penny sluggishly walked through the school gates towards the car. She was pale, had bags under her eyes and there was that crease between her eyebrows that she got whenever she was in pain. 

She looked worn out and exhausted.

"Hey kid," Happy said as she put her school bag on the backseat.

"Hey, Hap." She greeted quietly, climbing into the front passenger seat. 

Penny no longer sat at the back with a divider between them. Since he and her aunt had gotten together, he had been around a lot more and subsequently they had started getting closer. She sort of viewed him as another uncle. They'd even spoken about it and Happy had reassured her that he never wanted to replace her uncle Ben, that he was hoping to just be there for her however she wanted him.

She told him that he was another uncle to her. He wouldn't be able to replace Ben but he was just as important to her. She said it was like Tony was her dad but he wouldn't ever take the place of Richard.

Happy started the car and pulled out of the school parking lot. He didn't like how quiet Penny was, usually, she was talking his ear off by now. Their conversations consisting of anything from how their days had been, to the last episode of Downton Abbey that they'd watched together.

He glanced at her while they waited for a green light. She was curled up (as much as you could in a car) leaning her head against the door with her arms wrapped around her middle.

"You okay, kid?" He asked her, concern starting to rise. "You're not looking so great and you're not talking my ear off."

She turned a bit to look at him, wincing as her back straightened. "Not really but I'll be fine later. Really, I will." She said to him, adding the last bit after he arched a brow at her.

"You know you can talk to me right?" He asked gently, not wanting to pressure her. "I might not be Tony or May but…" he trailed off, pushing on the gas when the light changed.

Penny smiled softly at him. The Happy sitting next to her was so different from two years ago.

"I know, it's just- " she hesitated, "It's a bit personal and I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Okay, Pen. Is there anything I can do or get for you though?" He asked, smiling slightly as she perked up a bit.

"I would kill for a Chocolate Therapy or Tonight Dough from BJ!" She grinned at his eye roll at her name for Ben and Jerry's.

That's when it clicked. The stiffness in her body movements, obvious discomfort, "It's personal, I don't want to make you uncomfortable.", and the chocolate.

"Pen, are you uh- is it your period that's making you feel crappy?" He asked.

She looked to him with a slightly surprised expression on her face. "Yeah, how did you know?" She asked him.

He chuckled slightly before answering. "You just asked for the same ice cream that May asks me to get for her when she craves it on her period." He found the endless similarities between them quite amusing.

Penny let out a snort. Here she was worrying about making him uncomfortable when he'd been the one getting them the ice cream for the last few months since he moved in.

"So does that mean I can have ice cream from BJ?" She smirked.

Happy rolled his eyes teasingly. Brat. "Yeah, yeah. You can have the ice cream."

Later as they stepped into the penthouse elevator, ice cream cups in hand, Penny looked at him.

"Thank you," She said, "For loving May and taking care of her. She'll say she doesn't need it but she does. She loves you a lot. We both do."

He gave her a hug. "I love you both too, kid."

She smiled at him as the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Roo!" Tony called from the lounge, a blanket nest on the mattress that was placed on the floor in front of the couch he was perched on. Happy spotted a few specially made Spidey metabolism energy bars, some pillows from her bed, a heating pad, and her favourite Sherlock water bottle.

"Pepper kicked me out of the lab so we're having a movie marathon instead. Go get changed and we can start watching." Tony continued.

"I'm already ahead of you!" Penny said over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway to her room.

"Bye kid." Happy called as he turned to the elevator.

"Bye Happy!" He heard from down the hall. He heard a thud followed by Penny calling out, "I'm okay!"

'I might not be May or Tony,' Happy thought as the doors closed and he started moving back down the parking lot. 'But I'm Happy and that's good enough for me.'

  
  
  
  



	10. Farewell Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried writing this. That's all.
> 
> Consider @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow eternally shouted out. Love them so much♡
> 
> Tags: This one is Endgame compliant again. Sorry.

_Tony was a friend of mine_

_We were together all the time_

  
  


It was Rhodey's first day at MIT, and he was struggling to get into his dorm room. Because of a massive box in the doorway. What was in the box you ask? Scraps. Why does anybody have a box of scraps?

His thoughts were interrupted by a kid walking up to him, he must have been what 15, 16? Was this someone's brother or something? Why is there a random kid just walking around?

"Whoops, I forgot to move that, sorry!" The kid said before he jammed his shoulder into it and pushed off of the door frame to get it into the room.

Rhodey's confusion must have shown on his face because the boy introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Tony," he greeted as he held out a hand, "You're Rhodey right?" 

Wait… this kid is his roommate?

"Yeah, I'm a genius. That's how I'm here so young." The kid he now knew as Tony said.

Rhodey shrugged to himself, it wasn't the strangest thing he'd heard. 

Little did he know, his view of the word strange would be evaluated pretty soon because of Tony.

* * *

  
  


Since they had most of the same classes, they started spending a lot of time together.

They started studying together, they ate together (Rhodey had to be the responsible one otherwise Tony would rather tinker with the box of scraps than eat), they went out together, more often than not, they were paired together on projects and presentations. Rhodey suspected Tony having something to do with that, but he wouldn't complain. He'd sorta become attached to the weird little genius.

* * *

  
  
  


_He had my back_

_Once he really saved my life_

  
  


Usually, it was Rhodey that was keeping Tony out of trouble. 

It was how the whole argument started in the first place. He thought Tony was too reckless, that he drank too much (when he shouldn't be drinking at all), didn't care about lab safety.

Tony almost lost a finger to some robot he was working on. Tony would say it wasn't that bad, and usually, the subject would have been dropped. But it wasn't dropped because in Tony's stupidity when the robot exploded and he almost lost a finger, a piece of metal had gone flying and given student nearby a pretty bad concussion and left another with a bad sprain. It's what pushed Rhodey over the edge.

"You are such a childish idiot sometimes!" He'd yelled. "You never think of anyone else except for yourself!" At the moment he hadn't seen the momentary hurt flash on Tony's face before it was masterfully concealed.

"You're right, it won't happen again. Sorry." Tony said as he hastily left the lab, his workspace miraculously cleaned already.

* * *

  
  


'Rhodey you idiot, you really screwed up now.' He thought to himself later when he saw that Tony hadn't come back to the dorm. He thought back and he just saw the hurt Tony could wipe from his face but not his eyes.

He looked for hours but he couldn't find him. Tried calling him but he never answered. Eventually, he decided to head back to the dorm. Just before he crossed the road he felt his phone vibrate with a notification, hoping to see a text from Tony he looked down, only to be yanked back onto the sidewalk just as a truck barrelled past where he'd been standing.

"Who's the idiot now?" He looked to his left and there was Tony. He'd been the one to pull him out of the way.

"I'm sorry," He said quietly, "And thank you."

Tony scoffed next to him. "You hurt me but I wasn't going to let you become a Rhodey shaped pancake. You're the only damn person I like in this place."

* * *

  
  
  


_Sometimes, I wanna call him_

_Say hey then stay up 'til morning_

  
  


They would call each other all the time. Between Rhodey being deployed in different countries and overseas, and Tony's lack of sleep schedule, they would speak during all hours of the day.

After Afghanistan, New York, and Siberia, it became usual for one of them to call after a nightmare or during a panic attack.

* * *

  
  
  


_When I close my eyes_

_When I close my eyes_

_I see you, you_

_When I close my eyes_

_When I close my eyes_

_You come through, you_

_Time just deepens, sweetens_

_And mends old friends_

  
  


Sometimes Rhodey would turn around to say something to Tony, a joke from their college days, a question about Peter or Morgan, and he wouldn't be there.

He would walk past a bench in central park where they would sit and have coffee together, and he would see a ghost of a memory.

The first time he saw the lab after Tony, was a disaster. He cried because Dumm-E brought him an oil smoothie in a platypus mug that Tony got him as a joke.

He accidentally called Peter 'Tony' once when he found him tinkering in the lab. They both cried that time.

Rhodey would watch Peter and Morgan and would smile because they had _so much_ of Tony in them.

He saw Tony in everything that he did. It hurt so much but it made him happy too. He knew he would never forget his brother.

* * *

_We all melt back into the picture_

_Raindrops back into the water, old friends_

_Hmm_

  
  


There was a picture the Rhodey kept in his pocket. He couldn't remember when it was taken anymore.

He just knew that it was before the snap

It was taken at the compound on their personal floor. Happy and himself could be seen talking together near the open balcony door, a beer in both their hands. Harley and Peter were sitting on a web hammock, laughing at something on one of their phones, smiles slightly blurred from their laughter. May and Pepper held wine glasses, looking at magazine. He remembered that they had been mocking Norman Osbourne, much to Tony's delight.

And then there was Tony. He was leaning against a wall with a soft smile, face free of stress lines as he watched his family.

He was happy.

  
  


* * *

  
  


A now much older James Rhodes stood on the lake house porch. He watched as the now even larger family laughed and smiled together.

Happy was standing at the grill, making hamburgers and hot dogs. May stood near him and they shared a smile as their eyes met.

Pepper was looking at wedding venues with Morgan and her fiance, Brendon.

Peter was chasing after a curly-haired, brown-eyed little girl. As he chased her she darted up the side of a tree, you could hear her giggles as her head popped out from leaves. Upside down.

MJ was sitting on a chair, sketchbook in hand. She looked up at the little girls squeal when Peter pulled her from the tree and tickled her.

They were all happy, but someone would always be missing. 

Rhodey let a sad smile cross his face. He let out a wistful sigh, "You did good Tones." He said quietly to himself. 

He moved towards the porch stairs, leg braces whirring.

As he stepped down he could have sworn he heard the ghost of a heart-achingly familiar laugh.

He scoffed slightly. His old age was playing tricks on him he thought.

He missed the whispered "Farewell, brother."

* * *

  
  
  


_And there are no ends to old friends_

_Amen_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come scream at me on  
> [My Tumblr](https://seaweedbrain3000.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this one. I kept listening to the song Old Friends by Coldplay (which is the song used in the fic) and it brought me to tears a couple times. I really hope you guys like it! If you do please let me know in the comments?♡ they motivate me to write


	11. Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance because I was very sleep deprived when I wrote this.
> 
> Tags: Crack. I don't even know if this makes sense. I have refused to look at it since I wrote it

"Peter Parker." 

'Finally,' Tony thought as they (Him, Pepper, May, Happy, and Rhodey) cheered for him, 'We've been waiting for ages!' 

As Peter walked across the stage to accept his diploma, Tony's eyes were drawn to where a boy with dirty blonde curls and a southern accent was watching Peter with what could only be described as heart eyes.

The boys had met 2 years ago when Harley had moved to the tower to go to school here.  They'd hit it off almost instantly, talking and laughing, tinkering in the lab together, watching movies, texting when they couldn't hang out.

Surprisingly, it was Tony who first noticed that they liked each other. Peter became strangely confident in his flirting and jokes whereas Harley was the one the blushed and got flustered.

Tony found it endlessly amusing.

As soon as all the students had been called, speeches were given, and diplomas and awards handed out, Peter appeared in front of them in, a gigantic smile on his face.

"Peter, I'm so proud of you, sweetheart!" May said pulling him into a hug that would surely break bones if he wasn't Spiderman. "Lemme see!" May motioned to his certificate.

He passed it to her just as he was tackled by Ned, MJ, and Harley. They all fell to the ground in a heap or robes and caps, killing themselves laughing.

If Tony was recording it all through his FRIDAY interfaced glasses he would just say it was for blackmail.

"Okay, okay. Let me have a chance with the kid now." He said as they all tried to right themselves.

Once Peter was standing he was pulled into another hug, this time from Tony. 

"I'm proud of you too, kid." He said against Peter's curls. "I think May and I could have gone without the heart attack you gave us when you passed out after pulling those all-nighters to study, but there's never a dull moment with you is there?" the billionaire smiled and lifted his arms in a shrug, pulling away from Peter.

"Thank you, Mr Stark." Peter beamed at him as he moved back a few steps to stand with his friends. "I'm so glad this is all over, guys!"

"Until we start the cycle over again when we go to college. Then it's back to unreasonable workloads, mental instability and government scams, just with added debt and ramen noodles." MJ said.

Ned and Peter simultaneously shushed her. "I'm ignoring you until tomorrow because this is the greatest day of my life." 

Looking back, Tony could pinpoint that it was exactly that was the moment when it all went to shit.

Out the corner of his eye, Peter saw MJ give a subtle thumbs up as she strategically moved her phone. 

Harley suddenly perked up. "I could always ask you to marry me now and really make it the greatest day of your life," he smirked, "or I could just wait for later." 

Tony's jaw dropped and he jerked in a way that reminded Pepper of when Maya Hansen had quipped about a son just before the Mandarin incident.

Peter tilted his head in contemplation. "Hmm," he said, "now is good because we can get it out of the way before we have to leave. Right, Em?" He turned to the girl who just smirked.

"I mean, you're not wrong," Harely agreed, "dibs on MJ as my witness!" 

Peter rolled his eyes. "I was gonna dibs her! Unfair!" He pouted.

Ned made an indignant sound from next to them. "Hey!" He cried. "What about me?!"

Peter turned to him with wide eyes. "Dude! I'm sorry! Please forgive my grave mistake!" He said in a dramatic voice.

"Dude," Ned replied solemnly, "You are forgiven."

Harley clapped his hands, startling Tony out of his shock. "I don't know about you guys... but I feel like pizza." He beamed.

  
  


He waited for answering nods and agreement from everyone before walking off towards the parking lot. "C'mon then! I'm starving."

"Wait for me! Getting engaged makes you hungry." Peter giggled and Harley stopped, almost falling over from the sudden burst of laughter the escaped him. Ned and MJ were laughing too. 

They all looked at Tony who resembled a fish with the way his mouth was gaped open.

"What, and I cannot stress this enough, the  _ hell _ just happened?"

That was all it took for May, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy to let the out laughs they'd been trying to hold in.

"Wha-" Tony floundered. "Can someone please tell me what's going on right now?" 

"You- your face-" Harley couldn't speak through his laughter.

Pepper stopped giggling and looked at Tony only to lose it again.

Rhodey gave a final snort before he managed to pull himself together. "You just got pranked, Tones!" He chortled. 

"Tony.exe has stopped working." MJ said when Tony just stared at them all.

Eventually, Tony sighed and declared "You all are detrimental to my health and are hereby disowned."

"Don't worry Mr Stark! We're not getting married anytime soon," Peter started "Yeah, we are definitely not ready for the whole wedding thing. We'll make it official in a few years." Harley continued.

If possible, Tony looked even more done with life. "Official?" He said before shaking his head, "You know what? I don't want to know. I just wanna go have a pizza and forget this whole thing happened." He walked off towards the car and chuckled to himself, 'Never a dry moment with them, that's for sure.'

"You guys coming or what?" He called behind him to the still chuckling group. 

"I've heard that engagements make you hungry."

  
  
  
  



	12. Stabbed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A massive thank you to @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow for their held with ideas of what to do with most of these prompts. 
> 
> Tags: blood and aftermath of a stabbing, none of it is graphic though.

The notification came through from Friday while Tony and Pepper were watching a movie after dinner. It was summer holiday and Peter was staying with them while May was on honeymoon with Happy. He'd been allowed to patrol later in the evenings and wouldn't be home until an hour later.

"Boss," FRIDAY said, pausing the movie, "Karen has just sent a distress signal. It appears that the suit is damaged, and I cannot physically scan him to get a good assessment of his injuries. However, cameras situated near the last known location suggest that Peter has been stabbed."

Tony jumped up, his suit already half-formed around him. He looked at Pepper with panic brewing in his eyes. "Go get him, I'll call Cho and have the media bay prepped just in case." Pepper said

Tony thanked her before engaging the thrusters and flying off towards Peter's last location. He didn't know what he would do without her.

"What are we looking at, FRI?" He asked as he flew. 

"It seems that Peter was on his way home when he noticed a struggle in an alleyway close to his location. It was an attempted mugging and he was able to apprehend the suspect but not before he was stabbed." 

Thankfully Peter wasn't that far from the tower and landed on a nearby rooftop just as FRIDAY finished speaking, immediately spying Peter slumped next to the wall of the rooftop entrance.

"Hey, kid." he said as he knelt in front of the limp form. He tried not to panic as he saw the growing puddle of blood under the teen. Why was there so much blood?

Peter looked up at him, eyes slightly dazed from the pain. "Hey Mis'er Star'," he slurred, "M' sui' malf- malfun'oned … coudn' call you poperly." His words became more mumbled as he spoke.

Tony shushed him. "It's fine, Pete. I just need you to keep as much pressure on this as you can alright?" He asked him as he moved the boy's hand over the wound.

Peter let out a grunt of acknowledgement.

"FRI?" Tony asked and the A.I. immediately answered.

"I ran a scan and Peter requires immediate medical attention. He has a clean stab wound on the left side of his abdomen, and he is quickly losing blood. I would recommend applying pressure and immediately seeking medical attention." She said promptly.

"Is he stable enough to fly him there or do I need to secure him in this suit and call for another?"

"He is stable, boss."

"I'm sorry, kid, this is gonna hurt like a bitch." He said as he hooked his arms underneath Peter's knees and around his back, lifting him bridal style. 

"I know, I'm sorry," He said when Peter let out a whimper, "You'll be fine. We'll be at the med bay soon and I'll get Cho to give you the good stuff." He said as he took off towards the tower. 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


"How's he doin'?" Tony asked Cho as soon as she stepped out of Peter's room.

"He's fine, a little dopey, but otherwise in perfect health. Like FRIDAY told you, the stab was pretty clean, there wasn't any indication of infection or other bacteria from the knife. He will feel a bit lightheaded for a while because of the blood loss. We were able to stop easily once he was on the table."

Tony's eyes flickered to the door behind her before he looked at her again. 

He felt himself relax as she spoke. He knew that it wasn't life-threatening compared to some of the injuries Peter had obtained, but he still worried. Even May was less stressed about it than he was when Pepper had phoned to fill her in earlier.

"Thanks, Cho. You're brilliant. I was thinking of getting you and your team medical-themed chocolates as a thank you. Do you think stethoscope shaped chocolates exist? Ehh if they don't I can always make it happen anyway." He rambled on eyes moving to the door again.

Cho just laughed at him. "I'm sure you would, Tony. And you know it's a pleasure doing anything for Peter. He's a special boy and my whole team loves him."

"He certainly is." Tony smiled as his eyes darted behind her to Peter's door yet again.

"Go see you kid, Tony. I know you're dying to." She smiled at him amusedly. 

He was already out of his chair and at the door. "Thanks again, Cho!" He called over his shoulder.

* * *

  
  
  


When Cho went to check in on him during the night, it was no surprise that Peter had corralled Tony onto the bed with him (it was a good thing that Tony had gotten bigger more comfortable hospital beds. Conveniently around the time that Peter first started coming around the tower and compound).

They were curled around each other, fast asleep. Both of their faces free of stress. She had FRIDAY take a picture of them and send it to Pepper and May. 

As she was walking through the door she glanced at them again and felt a soft smile take over her face. 

As usual, her patient was in good hands.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I wouldn't have been able to give you guys this chapter without @itsreallylaterightnow.   
> Her whump knowledge is super helpful and she's awesome!   
> So thank you for betaing this one for me! I've been trying to do these on my own so that they're a surprise but her willingness to always help me and lend her knowledge really helped with with this chapter.   
> Thanks, Love!


	13. Unfortunate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just realised that I hadn't posted this or started on my next prompt (don't worry I'm still a few chapters ahead with what I've written so far) and I can't believe I forgot. Anyway, here you go! * throws next chapter out into the void *
> 
> Tags: none that I can think of. Lemme know if you guys think I should tag anything specific from this chappie.

When Tony had adopted Peter after May died, he'd sat down with the teen and they spoke and came to a mutual agreement on what rules and boundaries needed to be followed.

There weren't many rules but the ones they did have were mostly built on trusting and/or communicating with each other.

If, for whatever reason, Tony had denied him access somewhere, Peter was allowed to ask either Tony or FRIDAY for the reason why, if he respected Tony's authority to do so. 

So far it had only happened twice. Once when the Rouges were in the middle of being pardoned and Tony restricted Peter's access to the floor while the meetings were in process. As well as a time that Tony and Peter had gotten into their first serious argument and Tony restricted access to the lab so that he could cool down before speaking to Peter, which was another one of the rules. 

If they were ever angry with one another, they were allowed to say that they wanted to keep some distance and calm down before interacting with one another.

The rule in play at the moment branched from that rule. If Peter wanted to skip school or have a day to recharge by himself, then all he had to do was say so and Tony wouldn't pressure him to find out why on the condition that Peter didn't abuse it or fall behind with school or patrols.

So when Peter asked to skip school, Tony didn't question it, as much as he wanted to. 

Peter had become increasingly withdrawn over the last week. He cut his patrol time practically in half, seemed to drift off into his head during movie night, and even made a mistake on a web formula that he'd perfected and could practically make in his sleep.

To say that Tony was concerned was an understatement, but he knew he couldn't confront Peter about it yet. He knew that his kid needed to sort things out in his mind before he could talk to Tony. After all, it was the same way Tony had been for most of his life.

When Peter swung out of the tower, Tony squashed down his instinct to interrogate him on where he was going or if he was okay. He settled with asking FRIDAY to pull up the vitals from Peter's suit so he could at least calm his mind by knowing that his kid was at least physically alright. 

He was able to distract himself from the need to see if Peter was alright until an hour or two later when FRIDAY informed him that Peter had been at the same location for the last hour. He finally gave in and called his suit. He had a spider child to find.

* * *

Peter didn't move from his place on a swing when Tong landed just behind him. His head tilted towards the billionaire slightly but he showed no other outward signs of having heard Tony's arrival.

The man took a seat on the swing next to Peter, never breaking the silence.

He looked at the teen and noticed that he didn't look like he was dissociating or in a depressive state of mind, he just looked tired and sad.

He looked around at the slightly run-down park that they were in and it clicked. It was the park that Peter's parents used to take him to, and later the one that Ben and May took him to.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, but must have only been minutes, Peter spoke. "It's been 11 years since my parents died," he mused, seemingly gazing at nothing, "And I don't remember them. I was with them for six years but all I have is fragments triggered by something Ben or May told me."

Tony kept silent, knowing Peter needed to get it out.

Peter opened his mouth as if to carry on speaking but closed it again with a sigh. "I know more about Ben and May, I even know more about you and Pepper than I ever remembered of my own parents." He hesitated, "I miss Ben ad May more than I miss them. And I feel guilty because I don't know if I miss _them_ or just the idea of them."

The boy looked at Tony for the first time and the man saw the turmoil and hurt swirling in his eyes.

"I don't know why I'm thinking all of this, but it _hurts,_ dad. And I don't know what to do." His voice cracked at the end.

Tony didn't know what to say to him. How do you comfort someone who has been dealt so many _unfortunate,_ devastating, and heartbreaking losses and situations in life? How do you tell them that it's okay to not miss someone as much as you do another, simply because you don't have the same capacity of emotional attachment? 

How do you tell your child that what they're feeling is okay or normal, when to the rest of the world it isn't?

He didn't. He just tried the best with what he could do.

"Peter," Tony said, "I'm not going to tell you how to act or feel about any of this because I wouldn't know how to in the first place. I'm not going to give you wisdom on how to deal with this because you need to grieve in a way that is right to you." He gave a sad smile as he got off the swing and knelt in front of his child. "The only thing I can do is offer you my love and support. I'm here for you for whatever and whenever you need me. 

If you want a hug or to cry, then my arms are right here. 

If you want to go home, watch a movie and eat unhealthy oily take out, that's what we'll do. 

If you want to forget about this conversation – which I definitely advise against. You can't just keep this all inside or you'll make yourself sick – then it'll be considered forgotten. 

If you want to talk more and work through it another time then I'm all Wars for when you're ready. And if you don't want to talk to me then we can get your old therapist in."

Peter looked at Tony, relief, gratitude, and love shining in his eyes. "Thank you." He didn't have to say anything else because he knew Tony would understand everything he tried to say in that one word.

Thank you for being here for me.

Thank you for not pitying me like others.

Thank you for supporting me.

Thank you for loving me.

* * *

  
  


His infamous 'Parker Luck' had dealt him an unfortunate hand in life, but he knew that he could come out on the other end stronger than before.


	14. Broken Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! This is probably my favourite chapter so far! I've been so excited to share this one so I really hope you like it!
> 
> Tags: character death.

MJ was the light of Peter's life. Anyone who saw them together knew it. They were so different yet at the same time so similar. They balanced out each other's vices and faults. They were two halves of a whole.

Now, you're probably wondering how they could be so complementary to each other, but it's simple. 

They were soulmates.

* * *

Not everyone had a soulmate, only about 40% of the population being blessed (or cursed, depending on the point of view) with their other half.

Each person was born with half of a mark on one of their wrists, the other half on their soulmate's wrist. Everyone also had a unique mark that only their mate shared, you might have a mark that is similar to someone else's, but there would always be a way to tell between them. For example, a flower mark would bend in the opposite direction, have less or more leaves, or be a different colour and so forth. A mark could range from a paper aeroplane the size of a dime on their finger, to a magnificent tree spread across someone's back.

The possibilities were endless.

There were also ways of telling whether you had met your soulmate, and if they were a platonic or romantic bond. When you met them, the outline of the other half of your mark would appear, and depending on what orientation the bond was, the outline was either blue for platonic or red for romantic. 

Once you found your mate and completed a bonding ritual (similar to that of wedding vows), you would be considered a bonded pair. After the bond was completed, the outlines of your mark would be filled in with the missing details and colours. 

It was said to be different for each bonded pair, but once the marks filled in, you would feel complete. Those little imbalances - that you didn't even know were there until they were calmed by your bond - were fixed. You felt every emotion just a little bit stronger, your mind felt more clear, and you felt so energetic and full of life. In some cases, mates would even be able to feel their bonded's emotions or be able to check if they were injured through the Mark's.

Which is why the suicide rate after a broken bond was so high. Every positive thing that you felt as your bond completed and your mark filled was reversed when a mate died before their time. The mind and body of the mate left behind couldn't comprehend living without its other half.

If a mate died of natural causes, old age, or even cancer, the bond would sense it and be able to prepare itself for the break. When a mate died due to a murder, car accident, shooting, stroke or heart attack, the sudden breaking and reversing of the bond often left the surviving mate with broken heart syndrome. 

Surprisingly, the hardest thing that mates with a broken bond reported living with, was their mark.

The marks never went back to their split state, rather they lost all colour and life. What was left behind was a grayscale version of your mark.

An eternal reminder of what you had lost.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Peter was 17 the first time that Tony fully saw the mark situated on the inside of his right wrist, only having caught glimpses of it before. 

They were having a movie night when Peter reached over to steal popcorn from Tony. When he saw the billionaire's eyes flick to his wrist, he dusted the leftover butter salt from the popcorn of his hand and turned it around, the mark facing Tony.

Cut through the middle, one side a red outline, was a dahlia flower that faded black at the centre to a deep red at the tips of each petal. The flower was overlapped by a triangle, at the bottom of the triangle there was a faded, dusty outline of the petals outside of the triangle. 

On the left side, there was a more solid, detailed version of the petals. The only difference between the left side and the flower on the inside of the triangle was that the outer petals were obviously not meant to have colour when the flower in the centre bloomed with colour after the bonding.

The right side had a completely black silhouette of the outside petals. There were even elegant looking leaves spreading out from it.

Overall, it was one of the most beautiful marks Tony had ever seen.

He lifted his hand before hesitating, looking to Peter for permission. After receiving a nod he let his fingers ghost over the slopes of the leaves, admiring the shapes and details. He noticed that the veins on the leaves looked very much like spider webs.

Peter smiled at him, full of pride as he said, "MJ has the other half. We only figured it out last year after we got together."

"Yeah? That's amazing, bud." Tony grinned back at him, happy that his kid had found his mate, and an incredible, headstrong, amazing one at that.

"We talked it through the other day," The teen said, "We were thinking of having a bonding ceremony after graduation. We don't know when yet, but we want to do it before college." He looked at Tony nervously, "Do you think we're rushing it all? Because believe me, I know it seems really fast but–" 

"Kid, hey," Tony interrupted him, "Relax. This is a big thing but you both are responsible and smart. I know that you aren't just jumping the gun and rushing into this without thinking. Besides, you're only graduating next year and you said you guys are taking a gap year?" He asked.

"Yeah, we're taking a gap year. We wanted to hang back and just have some calm before jumping into it all."

Tony bumped Peter's shoulder with his own, "Exactly. So you'll already be at least 19 or 20 which is a normal age for bondings. You two have already been together for over a year, and you're mates. It'll help you guys in the long run to bond anyway." He lifted his hand and ran a soothing hand through Peter's curls before letting his arm fall and pulling the teen into his side.

"You have all the time in the world, don't worry yourself over it now."

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


A few years (and Peter almost being late to his own bonding) later, MJ was leaving the Stark lake house after having spent a week there with Peter. She had to go back to the city for work and was leaving a couple of days before Peter as he didn't need to go back to work yet.

"I love you." he said as he hugged her from behind, leaving a soft kiss against the mark that spread up across the side of her neck, leaves curling around her collarbone and just under her ear.

MJ let out a soft laugh. "I love you too, loser. But I need to go or I'm not going to make it back in time." She smiled as she pulled away, turning and leaning in to kiss the pout from his face.

"I'll see you in a few days but try to relax some more before you have to come back to work." She said as she got into her car. "And don't stay up all night in the lab now that I'm gone!"

"Yes, Boss." He smirked at her as she started the engine and reversed so she could drive straight up the road.

"Love you!"

"Love you too!" She threw a final smile through the window before driving off.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Peter was walking into the lounge to join May, Happy, Tony, and Pepper (Morgan was at a sleep over) when it happened.

He stopped dead, the glass he'd been holding slipped from his hand and shattered against the floor. 

"Peter?!" He heard the others let out various exclamations.

He felt as if something had been torn from inside of him, it left him swaying on his feet. His legs couldn't hold him and he crumbled to his knees.

"Whoa hey! Talk to us, Kid. What's going on?" Tony asked urgently, carefully lowering himself and to his own knees in front of Peter, paying no mind to the shards of glass. He heard the others come up behind them.

Peter gave no reply, he only looked down with hollow eyes. They followed his eyes down to his wrist. Tony heard May whisper a broken 'No!'.

Peter's mark had faded. The final colours bleeding out from it as they watched.

All of a sudden Peter let out a gut-wrenching, almost inhuman cry. They felt as if their hearts had been torn from them, and they couldn't even begin to comprehend what their child was feeling. The pain and loss he must be experiencing as his bond was shattered like the glass spread on the floor.

They had no way of comforting him through this. As much as they all loved each other, nothing could come close to a soul bond.

The only thing they could do was watch as he broke, hoping against hope that they could help him survive in a world without his bonded.

  
  


* * *

  
  


A once vibrant, beautiful mark was now coloured in haunting shades of grief.

A heart left broken beyond salvage.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  [Peter's Mark](https://za.pinterest.com/pin/765330530404080689/sent/?invite_code=82a5f53f2fe845e5827664d7b6fd1e0e&sender=680043749891503727&sfo=1/)


	15. Hearing Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a nod to my Ducky (@scooter3scooter) who, like me, has their hearing go away for a bit when the faint or pass out. Thanks for the idea♡
> 
> Tags: none that I can think of, but I'm tired and more than likely getting sick so if you spot any please let me know!
> 
> Hugs!♡

Life as a teenager was hard. Life as a mutant teenager was even harder. Where the average "normal" teen had to worry about chores, curfew, homework, friends, and the crushing weight of society… Peter had to worry about all of that with the added worry of crime and being Spiderman on top of it. Not to mention the enhancements, because somehow he was left with a super-powered appetite as well as super-powered anxiety.

Which is why it was so bad when he started slipping up on taking care of himself during finals.

* * *

He would wake up (after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep), get ready, sometimes have breakfast and sometimes not (activate protective irondad mode), he'd catch the subway to school, stress his way through tests, go home, study, patrol, and study some more. He'd fall asleep - if he could - at two in the morning most nights only to be woken by nightmares just a few hours later and not be able to sleep again.

The only times he ate was when someone got him something during patrol or if May was home or awake when he got back. 

To absolutely no one's surprise, his body took quite the hit from it all. It finally caught up to him during a lab day.

He'd felt lightheaded since his last test, but Peter still managed to finish his homework on the way to the tower so he didn't have to worry about it if he and Tony got lost in what they were doing, as they usually did.

When he walked in Tony had blinked at him in concern, taking in his haggard appearance and asking if he was alright. Peter brushed him off, saying that he was fine before distracting him with a new idea for the nanobots in Tony's most recent suit.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


After a few hours, Tony realised that it had already passed the usual time that he and Peter stopped for dinner. 

"Hey, Pete, you wanna head upstairs and grab something to eat?" He asked as he put down the gauntlet he'd been working on. It was already 

"Huh?" Peter looked up, head swimming "Oh yeah, sure. Can I just finish up with these new cartridges?" He asked after the words registered in his brain. He definitely needed to eat but he really wanted to finish this. It kept I'm distracted from school and life.

That threw Tony for a loop. The kid never turned down food. "Nope. C'mon, were getting food and you're taking a break. I know for a fact that you haven't eaten since at least lunch and you need to feed that spidey metabolism. Let's go."

Peter sighed and put the tools in his hands down. He was a little nervous to get up but tried not to let it show. Tony would be so cross when he found out Peter had been neglecting himself.

"You sure you're fine, kid?" Tony repeated his earlier question when Peter didn't get up after putting the tools down.

Peter stood up, again saying, "I'm fi–" before suddenly all he heard was a faint buzz as the world went dark.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


He woke to a stinging in his cheek and a strange heaviness in his body.

There was someone bent over him but he was struggling to focus enough to see them. He blinked his eyes and realised that the person was Tony, who's mouth was moving, an incredibly concerned expression on his face. Peter couldn't hear him. He felt as if his ears were filled with cotton, a hazy buzz where he would usually hear too much. It was disorienting.

'Ears buzzing. Cotton.' He signed clumsily to an increasingly panicky Tony, hoping he would understand what he was trying to say.

Tony visibly relaxed, 'You okay?' He signed back. 'No head injuries I need to know about?' He spoke along as he gestured.

Shaking his head as he sat up slowly, Peter moved his hands. 'No. My hearing blanks for a few minutes when I pass out.'

Tony gave the incredibly pale teen a look that could only be described as annoyed and concerned at the same time. 'Wanna tell me why you passed out?'

'Can I claim idiocy and not get in trouble?' Peter signed sheepishly.

'Not a chance. Truth, Parker.'

'I haven't eaten or slept enough.' He was able to hear the extremely muffled voice of Tony. 'I've been so stressed that I didn't even realise that I'd been slacking. I'm sorry' He signed guilty.

Tony heaved a sigh. "You need to take better care of yourself." He said, deciding not to push the subject just yet. "You're staying for the weekend. I'll handle May as long as you promise to go upstairs with me and eat at least 2 full pizzas, then get an early night." This kid would be the death of him.

Peter nodded, now hearing Tony's voice as a whisper. He hated that he let himself get to this point. He hated even more how much he scared the people around him that cared so much for him.

Tony got up, ignoring the pinching in his back, and held a hand out to the still too pale teen. Pulling him up slowly when Peter had grabbed his hand.

He kept an arm around the shakey boy as the left the lab and entered the elevator. "Hey FRI? Order our usual pizza for us, please?" 

"Already done, boss, it will arrive in 5 minutes." The A.I. answered.

"Go lay on the couch," he said to Peter as the elevator doors opened at the penthouse, "I'll go down and grab the eats." He shepherded the boy out and made sure he was actually on the couch before heading back to the elevator.

  
  


* * *

  
  


When he got back up to the penthouse, pizzas in hand, Peter was fast asleep. Tony smiled as he put Peter's pizza in the microwave for later. The teen was the reason for his greying hair, but he loved him all the same.

  
  
  



	16. Travel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm feeling pretty crappy right now but I thought I'd post this before (hopefully) the medicine I took knocks me out. Hope you guys like it, and please please leave a comment if you like it! Even just a single emoji!♡
> 
> Tags: none

Tony knew that Peter wouldn't be able to rest until he'd done what he could for his country. When Peter was deployed overseas, Tony thought back on his son's life, wishing he had decided on a different path instead of going into the army. 

Peter was brilliant, he could have taken the science or political worlds by storm, he could have travelled the world and changed lives from a relatively safe occupation. Instead, he travelled to war zones and behind enemy lines. 

Every time that Tony checked the mail, or heard a knock on the door he would freeze in the fear that he would find out his baby was dead.

That he couldn't protect him. Every time that he looked at Pepper, Morgan, or MJ, he hoped that he wouldn't have to one day tell them that Peter was gone forever.

He had faith though, they all did. Faith that one day Peter would find his way home to them.

  
  


* * *

It had been 4 years since Peter was deployed. He'd managed to see them a couple of times a year but those times became few and far between. Eventually, it had been just over a year since the last time they'd all seen him. 14 months since he'd cooked with Pepper, or played tag or video games with Morgan. 14 months since he'd tinkered in the lab with Tony. Since he'd been able to hold MJ in his arms.

He could wait a little longer. It would be worth it.

  
  


* * *

MJ sighed as she put down the phone. Emotions swirling inside her.

"How long?" Pepper asked quietly.

The young woman blinked at her. "Huh?" She said.

"How long has his tour been extended this time?" Tony said, also knowing what had been said since he'd handed MJ the phone. He and Pepper could read her almost as well as they could Peter at this point.

"Three months."

  
  


* * *

  
  


2 months later, Tony heard a knock on the door. The lake house was secluded enough from the road that they'd only had one or two unwelcome guests over the last few years.

They weren't expecting anyone that he knew of. Pepper was home with him and MJ was picking Morgan up from school in her way here like she did every Friday for their weekly dinner. Not to mention that she had a key.

He opened the door before freezing, eyes filling with tears of joy. "Peter!" He breathed, taking in the sight of his boy standing in front of him.

"Hey, dad. Long time." Peter said, tears welling in his own eyes as he pulled his father into a hug, the older man snapping out of his shock to hug him back.

"You're back early." Tony choked out, not moving from their tight embrace. He felt Peter nod.

"Yeah. And I'm back for good this time."

Both their cheeks were wet with tears but they didn't care.

Peter's travels were over. He was home.

  
  
  
  



	17. Missing You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I cried writing this one. Just saying.
> 
> Tags: character death, endgame compliant

_When I am by myself_

_Looking at photos and videos_

_That we took, I've been keeping them for so long_

_And with my broken heart_

_I see all the pictures of myself_

_Living life with-out you just feels so wrong_

  
  


Peter felt like he was haunted by Tony. He was everywhere he went. He was in the photos at home, he was in the thousands of articles and newspapers, he was in the murals painted across the city, he was in the spider suits, and he was in the too fast glimpses of the people bustling around going on with their lives.

But in the end, he wasn't actually there. He was gone and there was nothing that Peter could do.

* * *

_I want you to be here with me_

_I know it sounds crazy_

_I miss your laugh and I miss everything_

_We used to be_

_And even if it is just for a while_

_Then God please give us the time_

_I can't deal with the reality_

_There's nothing left that I can do_

_Cause my heart is just missing you_

  
  


Peter couldn't go to the tower for over a year. The first time he did it left him almost passed out from a panic attack. The only reason he hadn't was because Happy was there.

His missed Tony so much. He missed the lab days and movie nights. The quiet times where they would sit and play the piano, whispers in Italian passed between them.

He wanted it back.

  
  


* * *

_I tried everything_

_Every way I could forget you_

_Just so I can live my life without you_

_Ohhhh_

_Nothing is the same_

_It's hard for me_

_To erase all of the memories I have with you_

  
  


Peter didn't know what was wrong with him. He hadn't felt this way with Ben, or even his parents, so why did he feel this with Tony?

Why had the ache of loss not lessened? Why had the memories and thoughts only strengthened instead of weakened? He felt like it was yesterday when it had already been three years.

He'd tried so hard to distance himself from the memories and feelings that clung to him like a mist. He'd stopped going to the tower, only went to the lake house when forced, and never gone back to the compound after it was repaired.

He couldn't even be spiderman. He had a panic attack every time that he'd tried to put on the suit. Eventually, he never tried again. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but he still did it.

He did so much to stop feeling.

It never worked.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


_I want you to be here with me_

_I know it sounds crazy_

_I miss your laugh and I miss everything_

_We used to be_

_And even if it is just for a while_

_Then God please give us the time_

_I can't deal with the reality_

_There's nothing left that I can do_

_Cause my heart is just missing you_

_Ohhohhh just missing you_

  
  


Peter was different after the snap, after Tony. Everyone around him saw it. He got up every day. He spoke, he smiled, he laughed. He survived, he never lived.

None of them knew what to do. They didn't know what to say or do to help. They couldn't.

Peter would hear or see Tony in the smallest of things. 

He'd pick up a screwdriver and there would be Tony's, reaching for it with a sparkle in his eye.

He'd mutter a joke and would hear an old familiar laugh.

He'd complete an assignment during college, or a new invention when he worked for SI after graduating. An echo of "Good job, kid." Would ring in his ears.

Wherever he was, a shadow of Tony followed.

He was there when Peter graduated, when he launched his medical "web bandage" that he'd discovered by using his webs to stop the bleeding of a stab wound. 

He was there when Peter proposed to Harley (they'd met at Tony's funeral), when they adopted a little girl.

He was there when, slowly, those that Tony had left behind joined him. First was Pepper, then Rhodey, followed by May and Happy. Even Ned, MJ, and Harley left him. Peter was alone. He still had his daughter... but she had her own family now. She didn't need him.

It was when Tony finally disappeared that he knew. His time of missing the man was over.

* * *

In the end, he'd had a good life, but there was always a part of him that ached with loss. That part was peaceful now, for the first time.

Memories of the life he'd lived flashing before his eyes, Peter Parker-Keener took a final breath. 

He closed his eyes, and welcomed the darkness with a smile.

  
  
  



	18. Secrets Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING
> 
> Okay, this one is definitely pushing the line on dark!peter so I'm tagging that just in case. I think that seeing someone who had done such an intrusive violating thing to you would definitely cause some to "snap"
> 
> I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SAY: I'm in no way endorsing or condoning Peter's actions in this chapter.
> 
> Tags: mentions of rape, light description of torture, and character death (murder) basically I took Peter, made him ooc, and let him get revenge on Skip Westcott.

"Peter!" 

"Stop!"

"Whoa, kid!"

Came multiple voices and exclamations. None of them had even seen Peter like this. It was as if he was on a warpath.

"Take it easy now… you don't need to do this." Steve said to the boy in front of them. It was in vain however, they'd all been webbed in place when Peter had seen the man, a target they'd coerced into an abandoned warehouse that they could get information from him.

The boy who currently had his hands wrapped around the neck of a platinum-haired man, his grip the only thing keeping him up against the wall that he'd just been slammed into.

Peter tilted his head, blank eyes never leaving the man before him. "Don't I?"

"No, Pete, you don't. Whatever is going on right now, we can try and fix. Just put the man down." Tony tried to soothe him, only for it to make Peter tense further.

Peter smirked at the man still in his grip. "You hear that,  _ Skip _ ? They want to try and  _ fix _ it. Although, they don't know it can't be fixed, but you know all about it, don't you?" He pulled the man they now knew as Skip away from the wall slightly, just to slam him back against it, the man choking out a hoarse cry from behind the web sticking his mouth closed, and the hand strangling him. "Don't you!" The boy snarled.

None of them knew what to do. It was like Peter had been taken over by something.

Peter lowered Skip to the ground, pushing him to his knees. "You remember the "games" you made me play right? How I said over and over again that I didn't want to." He gave a dark smile, teeth glinting. He heard Natasha and Bucky's sharp intakes and knew they'd figured it out.

Peter lifted one hand and webbed Skip to the ground, on his knees with one arm stuck behind his back. "How about we play a game of mine for once, hmm? Wouldn't that be nice?" he said as he roughly grabbed Skip's free arm and bent it painfully behind him. He relished the man's cry.

"What if I dislocate a finger for each time that I cried and begged for you to stop? And what if I broke one of those dislocated fingers for each time that you ignored me and hurt me anyway?" 

Ahh, there was the soft gasps from Sam and Bruce. They always were quick on the uptake.

Peter let go with his other hand and yanked Skip's head back, the man frozen in fear.

"What if I cut, dislocate, or broke a part of you for every flinch, scream, nightmare, and panic attack that you left me with?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Steve shake his head, the super soldier's eyes full of pain. Next to him, the realisation dawned across Clint's face as well.

He let the arm in his hold fall as he flung Skip's head back, and stalked away from him. "You see, I could easily do  _ very _ painful things to you right now… but I don't think you deserve that. You deserve more than I could ever do to you." His voice lowered to a deadly whisper, "Because I'm not the monster that you are. I don't draw out a person's suffering and terror like you did to me."

Peter moved forward and leaned into Skip's space, forcing him to lean back uncomfortably as Peter gripped his throat again.

"I think I'll take something precious from you. After all, you took my innocence from me."

He heard Tony whimper out a "No!" From behind him as the implication of Peter's words finally hit him.

"I'll miss our "games", Einstein!" Peter sneered as he twisted Skip's neck. A sickening crack ringing through the air.

There was no movement from any of them even as the webs started dissolving. 

Darkness hanging over them all like a cloud.

Peter's darkest secret had been revealed, but at what cost?

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also wanted to know if I must put up the rating? Atm its teen and up but I don't know if it should be bumbed up to mature. Please let me know


	19. Overprotective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very happy with this but I decided to stop nitpicking and just post it. Hope you guys like it.
> 
> Tags: gunshot wound, brief (incredibly) non graphic depictions of bullet removal. It's barely there in my opinion but I tagged it anyway.
> 
> I'm definitely not good with medical stuff and injuries. Sorry

"FRI, call Cho for me please?" Tony said as he rubbed a tired hand over his face, completely exasperated with the idiotic boy in front of him. The idiotic boy that currently had a bullet lodged in his thigh. A bullet that Tony hadn't been aware of because the protocol to alert him of Peter's injuries had been disabled. Again.

"It's fine! You really don't need to call Dr Cho. It's just a bullet, I can get it out easily and I'll be healed by morning." Peter tried to persuade Tony.

Tony sighed, feeling his blood pressure rising already. Luckily he was distracted by Cho's arrival.

"Peter Parker, am I going to have to put a name on a bed here for you?" She smirked at him as she moved around the room, putting various items on the metal trolley next to the bed Peter was sitting on. 

She turned to Tony "FRIDAY already filled me in. It's a pretty clean shot so I just need to get it out and disinfect the area. He'll be right as rain in a few minutes."

The billionaire gave a rueful smile. "Thanks, Cho, if you could also find a way to permanently bubble wrap him it would be great." This kid would be the death of him.

The doctor chuckled, already starting to extract the bullet from Peter's leg. She'd given him some of his specially synthesised spidey metabolism pain killers while Tony had been speaking.

"If either of us knew how to stop his numerous injuries, we would have done it by now." She murmured, dropping the bullet into a metal pan on the trolley.

"Hey!" Peter said indignantly, "I'm not  _ that _ bad."

Tony levelled him with an unimpressed look. "You're in here at  _ least _ twice a month, kid. Don't start."

"All done." Cho said as she finished wrapping his leg. "No patrolling or anything strenuous for at least three days. We all know that you have fast healing, but I want to be sure it's healed properly."

"I told you it was okay." Peter smirked at Tony.

The man gave him a blank look as he opened his mouth to say something back.

"Even so, I'd prefer to be contacted each time just in case. We don't need a repeat of when we needed to re-brake your wrist." Cho said, interrupting Tony as she tidied and disinfected the few instruments she'd used, before putting them back in their places.

"Now, I do have somewhere I need to be so I'll leave you in Tony's capable hands. Listen to him and nothing strenuous for three days, Parker." 

Tony thanked her as she left. He turned back to Peter and passed him some crutches. 

"Really?" Peter groaned. He was fine, he didn't need the crutches.

Tony silently pulled him up from the bed. "Yes, really. You didn't listen and leave Karen's programming alone, so now you need to use the crutches because you need to keep some weight off of that leg."

Peter groaned again before relenting and picking up the crutches. He wouldn't admit it, but they would help a bit.

Tony walked off towards the elevator before turning to face the boy. "And before I forget" He smirked at Peter, "May will be hearing that you messed with the suit again." 

Peter's eyes widened. "What! No! Mr Stark, she's gonna be pissed and all overprotective. Like you but worse!" He cried as he darted after Tony, going as fast as he could with the crutches.

The billionaire only laughed. "Shoulda thought of that before you did it."

  
  
  
  
  



	20. Butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm back. Lol I feel super awkward in all of these but whateves.
> 
>   
> Tags: just fluff. Also some Italian Tony cuz why not.

Penny Parker (soon to be Parker-Keener) turned away from the heels she'd been staring at when she heard a knock at the door of her room. 

They had booked rooms at the venue and were all getting ready there so they didn't have to rush.

She moved to the door and opened it a crack, peeking out to see who it was. 

Tony smiled at her. "Just me," he said, "Can I come in?"

Penny smiled back and opened to door to let him in. He walked past her and she closed the door.

When she turned to him, the man's eyes widened as he took in the beauty of his daughter.

She was wearing a white dress with an empire waistline and an illusion neckline. The only reason he knew that was because Pepper and May had said it many times when the dress was being designed. The bodice was covered in a beautiful lace that dusted over her shoulders and at the end of the three-quarter sleeves.

Her short hair was in a messy half-up style that completely baffled Tony.

"You're beautiful, Neonata." He breathed out. His daughter had grown to be such an amazing powerful young woman. He couldn't be prouder.

Penny smiled shyly at him. "Thank you, dad." She wrapped her arms around him. "Ti amo papà."

Tony felt a lump in his throat. "Ti amo anch'io Piccola. Così tanto." He replied.

They pulled away after a final squeeze. "You okay, sweetheart? Any butterflies? We can still cancel all this." He sounded almost as if he was bargaining with her.

Butterflies. Penny didn't always understand them. It was supposed to be what you felt when you were nervous, but she'd felt them other times too. She'd felt them when she was happy, when she was sad at times, and when she was excited.

There was a fluttery feeling stirring inside her but she didn't think it was nerves.

"I'm okay. There's butterflies, but I think it's nervous excitement, more than anything else." 

Tony grinned. "I'm happy for you, Bambina. Now," he said clapping his hands together, "I know you hated the heels that Pepper and May got you, so I brought you something." He picked up a box that Penny only now realised was there. He handed it to her and gestured for her to open it.

Inside was a pair of converse that looked as if someone had splattered paint on them, but upon closer inspection, she saw that it was actually hummingbirds and flowers formed from the splatters.

"Dad, these are beautiful!" Penny gasped.

Tony smiled at her. It seems he couldn't stop smiling. "I heard you complaining that you had to wear heels and so I looked into getting something that was more you. It turns out that you can get a custom design on them. The pattern reminded me of that painting you did when you were younger so I thought you'd like them."

His daughter beamed at him before carefully sitting on the end of the bed. Slipping on the socks she found in the box, she moved to put the shoes on but Tony knelt down and grabbed them before she could. He gently slid it on her foot before tying the laces. It reminded her of all the times he'd done the same thing during her childhood. 

He stood up just as they heard a knock on the door. "10 minutes, guys!" Came May's voice before they heard her footsteps move towards where the ceremony was takeing place.

Tony looked at her with sparkling eyes. "You ready?" He asked as he held his arm out to her.

She looked up at her father, at the man who had always stood by her. Who'd comforted her when she was sad and laughed with her when she was happy. As she'd grown, he'd been her king. Now she was getting ready to spend the rest of her life with her prince.

"Ready." She said, looping her arm through his.

They walked out the door, letting it close behind them as they went on to the next chapter of their lives.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neonata = baby girl  
> Ti amo papà = I love you dad  
> Ti amo anch'io Piccola. Così tanto = I love you too, baby. So much.  
> Bambina = child. Feminine version of Bambino


	21. Lethal and Drowning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm doing something a little different for the next two updates. I decided to try my hand at combining prompts and this is what happened. The prompts I used were 21 and 22 from the febuwhump.
> 
> Tags: nothing much just basic whump I guess?

It was a hot, yet pleasant, summer day. The temperature was only at 89 or 90 °F, which was normal for the lake house. He felt pretty hot but figured it was from running and playing with Morgan. He'd jump in the lake to cool off later.

"Come get something to eat and put some more suntan lotion on you two!" He heard May call out to them. 

As he turned to head to the picnic table that had been set up near the edge of the lake, he felt the blood rush from his head and suddenly felt as if he was in a sauna. He stumbled, vision blurring before turning black as the ground rushed to meet him.

  
  


* * *

Peter didn't understand what was happening. 

He felt as if he was underwater. Everything around him was blurred and distorted. He could hear familiar voices but couldn't make out what they were saying. Before he could try, his world turned from being underwater to an earthquake.

Suddenly bits of voices started to break through the haze that still seemed to cover him. He heard muffled shouts of 'heat-' 'too much-' 'pulse is through the roof-' 'temperature too high-' 'not sweating-' 'shit!-' 'call Bruce-' 'seizing-' 

Peter's world was burning. He felt as if he was stuck in an ocean of pain and fiery torment, drowning with no way of reaching the surface.

It reminded him of when he was tangled in the suits parachute, when Tony had sent an unmanned suit after him. The only difference was that he felt fire instead of the icy coldness of that moment.

He was simultaneously burning, shaking and drowning. He didn't understand what was going on. 

The call of unconsciousness beckoned him. He let himself fall.

  
  


* * *

Peter woke to a beeping sound and the weight of a hand on his. He slowly opened his eyes, groaning as the adjusted to the bright lights of what he now realised was the compound med bay.

He moved to try and sit up but a hand on his chest stopped him. He looked up into the worried eyes of Tony.

"Wha' hap'nd?" Peter asked voice slurred from residue sleep and exhaustion.

Tony looked at him carefully for a while. "You went into heatstroke, Pete. You just collapsed. By the time we got to you, you had already started seizing." He eventually said. "I called Cho as soon as you went down and she had me send you here in a suit as soon as you'd stopped seizing."

The residual fatigue was cleared as Tony spoke.

It made sense to Peter now. The voices and feelings he'd had.

He looked at Tony with questions eyes. "Do you know what happened yet?"

Tony picked up the tablet from the table next to Peter's bed. Pulling up a hologram he passed it to the teen in the bed.

"Your thermoregulation doesn't just apply to the cold, it carries over to heat as well. Where a normal person is able to regulate their body temperature and stay cooler, you don't have that. Basically, it's your winter thermoregulation problems in reverse." He said as Peter looked at the information on the tablet. 

"Your metabolism sped up and boosted the effects. That's why it hit you all of a sudden."

Peter nodded. Contemplating the new information. "So metabolism paired either higher or lower temperatures equal possibility for lethal results. Got it. Guess that means no trips to the Sahara or the Antarctic then." He ignored that annoyed look he received from Tony. He coped with stress through humour. Tony should know that by now.

Peter sobered. "It was freaking scary but I guess we'll get used to managing it like we have with the cold side, huh?" He said passing the tablet back.

Tony set the tablet back on the table. "Yeah, we'll get used to it."

"Just try not to pull too many of these stunts, please?" Tony said, "Cho and her team like you but they don't want you to be a permanent fixture here."

"No promises."


	22. Unwanted and Abandoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 23:20 and I forgot that I had a chapter to post today. My bad lol. These are the prompts for day 23 and 24.
> 
> I tired something different for this chapter. If you wanna know a bit about it and don't mind spoilers, carry on. If you don't want spoilers, then skip the rest of the note.
> 
> SPOILERS: so in this I decided to do something unusual and make Ben the bad guy. Yes, I know, how could I? But I was listening to Kelly Clarkson while thinking of ideas for this and this is what happened.  
> Basically, Ben slowly becomes a douche and leaves. It's based on the song Piece by Piece - Kelly Clarkson.  
> Hope you guys like it.

_ And all I remember is your back _

_ Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past _

_ I travelled fifteen hundred miles to see you _

_ I begged you to want me, but you didn't want to _

  
  


Watching her uncle walk out the door, suitcases pulled behind him, Penny wondered why she wasn't enough. Wondered if she could have done something different that would have stopped him from leaving her and May. She felt like she was cursed. First, she'd lost her parents and now she'd lost Ben too. 

Later, when she asked May, her aunt would say that she knew it was coming, and that she'd made peace with it. When Penny was older, she asked again. Desperately wanting to understand why he'd just left.

May said that the Ben they used to know didn't exist anymore. That he slowly changed over the years. She would insist that he'd already started changing before Penny was placed with them, but the girl knew her aunt was lying.

Ben went from a man who only had one or two beers on the weekend, to drinking every day. From a respected cop who did as much good as he was able, to someone who did as little as possible even when he was on patrol or during work hours.

Little things changed first. The notes he would leave for May, and then Penny when she came to them, stopped first. The often said 'I love you's' became less until they were only said every few days. Days that turned to weeks, months, and somehow over a year has passed before Ben said that he loved them. Physical contact ceased too. He still gave May cheek kisses or a quick hand grasp but he never showed Penny affection. Barely even looked at her unless he wanted her to do something for him.

May tried to convince herself that it was because of the extra work he'd taken up since Penny came to them. That he just had less time.

She knew she was wrong. And she knew Penny did too.

When Ben left, it broke May's heart that Penny blamed herself for it. The woman loved her niece so much. She just wished that Ben had been able to as well.

  
  


-

  
  


_ But piece by piece, he collected me up _

_ Off the ground, where you abandoned things _

_ Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me at _

_ Six years old and you know _

_ He never walks away _

_ He never asks for money _

_ He takes care of me _

_ He loves me _

_ Piece by piece, he restores my faith _

_ That a man can be kind and the father could, stay _

  
  


It took them a while but they moved on. They had each other and that was enough for them.

May got a big promotion that set her up for a new position in the hospital where she worked. It gave her more money and fewer hours that she needed to work. They were able to get a new apartment closer to Penny's school and May was even able to get a car.

Immediately after Stark Industries stated they allowed high school students (with certain scholarly requirements) the opportunity to get an internship, Penny applied for one. To her surprise, she ended up being noticed by the one and only Tony Stark. The man, being impressed with her knowledge and abilities, asked her if she would be open to working as his personal intern/assistant. Needless to say, Penny jumped at the chance.

One day, a few months into her internship with the billionaire, he suddenly asked her a question she'd never been expecting.

"Parker," he'd mumbled to himself, "Where have I heard that name recently?" He glanced around in thought. Eyes falling on a while at the edge of his one desk, it came to him.

"Aha!" He cried, but Penny, now used to the randomness of her mentor, didn't react until he spoke to her. "Hey, Pen, your aunt is May Parker, yes?" 

The girl looked up, slightly caught off guard by the question. "Yes, why?" She asked curiously.

"Doctor Cho gives me the profile of potential medical professional she'd like to hire. I run background checks for her and then get back to her with the results." He explained. "Cho requested for one particular candidate to be checked first as she looked incredibly promising. That person is your aunt."

Penny looked gobsmacked. "Are you sure? Because I know for a fact that May hasn't applied for any new jobs or promotions."

"Yeah, I'm sure. As far as I know, Cho only has scouts and doesn't accept actual applications. It's why her team is so diverse and brilliant. If your aunt is top of the selected candidates then it's her own work that got her there."

-

May's new job on Helen Cho's team came with more time spent at the tower. Often times she or Penny stayed the weekend on a floor that Tony had set up for them. Since both of them needed high-level clearance to be wherever their respective bosses needed them to be, they would often visit each other if they had a free moment when they were both there. As a result, Penny got closer with the medical team that had become her aunt's friends over the time she'd worked there. Likewise, May even became closer to Tony Stark and the small found family that surrounded him.

Somehow Tony and May started having coffee together once a week. Later turning to a full dinner. Penny and Rhodey had a bet on when they would get together.

-

It was the week after Penny's graduation when Benjamin Parker showed up. He'd heard of her and May's success and wanted money from them. He claimed it was to pay him back for all that he did for them.

Tony, her father in everything but blood, cheered her on when she punched the man that was once her uncle. It didn't help anything but  _ damn  _ did it feel good.

-

"You sure you two are going to be okay?" May asked the two bundled up in the blanket nest they'd made on the couch.

Tony waved a hand at her, "Well be fine. I cancelled all of my weekend appointments so I'm free for Pen all weekend. I also have FRI keeping an eye on her vitals for me."

A groan and a thumbs up followed by a sneeze were the only answer that May got from the girl practically on top of Tony. "Okay, but you have to call me if you need anything!" She said before giving her fiance a quick peck and then giving Penny a hug. "Feel better sweetheart!"

Tony looked down at his mentee turned daughter with a frown. "You want to eat now or later after a nap?"

Penny only burrowed more into his side with a mumbled "Nap." 

The billionaire shifted to make them more comfortable. He gestured for FRIDAY to put a movie on and lower the lights. He'd let her sleep then get her some food and more medicine. He had a daughter to look after. Doesn't matter how old she was or if she'd just come back from her first semester of college. She'd always be his kid.

  
  


-

  
  


_ But piece by piece, he collected me up _

_ Off the ground, where you abandoned things _

_ Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me _

_ Six years old and you know _

_ He never walks away _

_ He never asks for money _

_ He takes care of me _

_ 'Cause he loves me _

_ Piece by piece, he restored my faith _

_ That a man can be kind and a father could, stay _

  
  
  



	23. Creators Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to write a five times someone looked after Peter and 1 time it was Tony but it never happened.   
> Instead we got one time Pepper did a mom move and one time Tony did. Make sense? Idk.
> 
> Tags: zip, nadda zilch.

  
  


Ned Leeds frowned at his best friend as they slowly walked towards the library where they usually spent their free period. The halls were silent as most of the students who had a free period went to wait in their next classroom or in the cafeteria. For a school of geniuses, they still avoided libraries for the most part.

It was the middle of winter and Peter had forgotten his special winter coat at home. The one specifically made to keep his body temperature regulated like his suit did. Ned had tried telling the other teen that he should call someone to bring it to him but no, Peter didn't want to bother anyone.

"What if you start hibernating or something? Because then you would be "bothering" us all with something you could have prevented if you weren't so stubborn." Ned said, using hair quotations when he said bothering. His friend never seemed to understand that people cared about him.

Peter rolled his eyes, trying not to shiver. "Okay, I've only hibernated once and I'm not going to do it again. FRIDAY has an alert for if my temperature drops to a certain level anyway." He mumbled exasperatedly, did no one trust him to take care of himself?

Suddenly the familiar click-clack of Pepper Potts' heels could be heard coming toward them. "One, you're a self-sacrificing buffoon who has no self-preservation. Two, you won't be hibernating anytime soon because I brought you this," she said as she appeared around the corner and dumped Peter's already warm coat over his head. "You're lucky that your friend MJ had the insensitive to text me and tell me that you'd forgotten it." She gave a disapproving frown.

Peter shot an innocent smile at her. "Thank you! I'm sorry!" He said as he burrowed into the coat.

Pepper smiled back, a hand brushing the curls from his eyes. "It's fine. Just try to stay alive for more than a day, yeah?" 

And with that, she was gone as quickly as she'd appeared.

* * *

  
  


"For the last time! I'm fine!" Peter scowled from his place on the lab's couch. Only to let out a sneeze.

Tony arched a brow at him, unimpressed that even when he had a fever, and was sneezing and coughing all the time, the boy still tried to insist he was fine. "No, you're not. We're not doing lab day like this, and you most definitely are not patrolling. What you  _ are _ going to do is get your spider butt upstairs, in bed, with five boxes of tissues."

Peter's face shifted slightly with an emotion that Tony couldn't name. "But I don't wanna go upstairs." Peter whined.

The superhero crossed his arms and looked at the younger one in front of him. The boy looked miserable. He had red eyes and an equally red nose. He was pale, shaky and looked about 5 seconds from crying. He somehow looked worse than he had when he'd walked in earlier and almost given Tony a heart attack with how zombie-like he looked.

"Why don't you want to go upstairs? You will be so much more comfortable up there than down here, bud." Tony questioned.

"Idon'twannabealone!" Peter said in a rush, heat rushing to his already rosy cheeks.

Tony blinked at him. "I don't speak spider baby, you wanna say that again?"

"I don't want to be alone."

'Oh,' Tony thought, 'It makes sense. Of course, he wouldn't want to be alone while he was sick.'

"So then I'll just come up with you," Tony said nonchalantly, "We can make it a movie night instead." He saw Peter's face light up.

"Really?" The boy beamed at him.

Tony smiled slightly. "Yeah, kid, really. But only if you actually listen and get some rest."

"Deal. Can we go upstairs now? I still need to show you  _ Rogue One." _

Tony chuckled. 'If that's what gets him to rest, so be it.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you guys think♡  
> Hugs


	24. Nightmare (Creators Choice)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super short I'm so sorry.
> 
> Tags: basic nightmare for Peter ig.

No. He was stuck. He tried to move, to lift whatever was on top of him off but he couldn't move, couldn't see. Everything was closed and dark, and he couldn't move. 

He tried calling for help but no one heard. He was alone. 

He felt the panic set in. Felt his lungs get tighter as he tried to choke air in. His heart rate speeding up as he tried to shove at what was trapping him. Nothing worked. The darkness condensed around him as if trying to squeeze the life from him.

Through the panic that was building ever higher, he heard a voice.  A familiar voice that brought a slice of calm. Flashes of warmth, a blue glow, and strong hugs.

"Roo."

The darkness withdrew slightly as he focused on the voice. Trying to hear what it said.

He felt a gentle but firm grasp on his shoulder, a hand brush over his hair. "Wake up, Petey,"

The world around him lightened. He could move slightly, the slack in the dark increasing more and more.

"It's just a nightmare," the voice said, "You're alright.

The pressure in his chest lessened and he was able to take a deeper breath.

"I've got you, Peter. I'm here."

The dark finally let him go. He woke up and was immediately drawn into his mentor's comforting embrace.

He sobbed out an apology to the man, guilty for waking him up and bothering him.

The older hero only rocked them slightly, dropping a kiss to his curls.

"It's okay. I'm here."

Peter eventually calmed down but Tony never let go of him, they stayed curled together even when Peter fell back asleep with Tony following after.

He was safe.

  
  
  



	25. Glass and Post Tragedy (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm in a crap tonne of pain right now cuz I screwed up my ankle.  
> Anyway, I decided to get this out before I passed out from the pain meds I took so I hope you guys don't mind and early update (by early I mean like an hour or two lol)
> 
> This is a continuation of chapter 8 Dark State of Mind so the tags are pretty much the same.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING!
> 
> Tags: suicide (I wanted to say attempted suicide but Peter wasn't meaning to actually kill himself), mention of blood, and mention of coma.

  
  


When FRIDAY had alerted Tony to Peter's behaviour that day he'd immediately known something was wrong and silently cursed himself for not thinking of Peter being alone at the tower. He tried not to worry, hoping that Peter would call if his thought got bad or if he had a grey day.

He should have known that it wouldn't be Peter who called.

  
  


* * *

_ Loving and fighting _

_ Accusing, denying _

_ I can't imagine a world with you gone _

_ The joy and the chaos, the demons we're made of _

_ I'd be so lost if you left me alone _

_ You locked yourself in the bathroom _

_ Lying on the floor when I break through _

_ I pull you in to feel your heartbeat _

_ Can you hear me screaming "Please don't leave me" _

  
  


He knew in his heart what had happened the second that FRIDAY called him during his meeting. He had his suit formed around him and was already out the window, Beijing a fading blur behind him.

He had increased all of his suits flight capabilities so that they were faster than even Shield's quinjets. He ordered FRIDAY to revert all the power that she could to the thrusters.

It still didn't feel fast enough.

-

Suddenly he saw the outline of the tower in front of him. He shot through one of the windows that he had FRIDAY open, not bothering with the landing pad. He wouldn't waste any more of the time he had. He pushed aside the thought of 'You're too late.' Instead focusing on getting to his kid. 

The closed bathroom door was in front of him. A dull, foreboding colour. He froze in fear of what he would find on the other side.

He shook it off and rammed against the door with his shoulder, cursing the fact that he had all of the doors reinforced.

He broke through after resorting to his repulsors, the door in fragments and splinters at his feet.

There wasn't even a flinch from the nearly unconscious boy on the floor. The floor painted in red.

"Fuck! No please no!" He cried out. Terror bleeding from his every pore.

Tony collapsed to his knees next to Peter, grabbing a towel and pressing it against the sluggishly bleeding wounds. "Don't do this to me, Peter! Don't leave me, Kid!" He couldn't stop the tears from falling.

He discarded the towel to the side and lifted the too pale form into his arms. He was on his feet and on the way to the med bay as soon as he had a secure grip on the unresponsive boy. The man felt a chill go up his spine when he saw Peter's glassy eyes as his head fell limply against his chest, face illuminated in the blue glow from the reactor he kept his suit in. The blue glow making the glassy eyes look even more haunting.

The seconds it took for the elevator to get to the med bay level felt like an eternity.

"Please stay awake. Don't close your eyes. C'mon, Pete, please!" Tony begged when Peter's eyes started slipping closed. He was almost running now, thankful that Peter was so lightweight after the bite. 

The elevator doors opened and he was running again. He looked down at the boy in his arms just before he reached the doctors also running towards him.

Peter's eyes were closed.

  
  


* * *

_ They took you away on a table _

_ I pace back and forth as you lay still _

_ They pull you in to feel your heartbeat _

_ Can you hear me screaming, "Please don't leave me" _

  
  


Tony paced in the waiting room, ignoring the whispers and looks from those with him. May and Pepper had arrived at almost the same time, both women looked frazzled but okay, having calmed each other already. Rhodey arrived ten minutes after them.

Tony's head shot up as Cho walked through the doors. He tried to ignore the red stains on her scrubs.

Cho let out a breath. "I'm going to be honest here," she said, looking at all of them. "Peter lost a lot of blood. If he wasn't enhanced he would be dead right now. We were able to stop the bleeding and stabilise him so he should be fine." She hesitated slightly.

Tony immediately jumped to speak. "You hesitated and said 'should'. What don't you want to tell us?" He said desperately.

"We're not sure if he's going to wake up. All of his brain functions are normal and he has no other injuries or anything wrong, he just isn't waking up. We've run all of the scans, done the tests we could, even had FRIDAY double-check it all for us. I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you why or when he could wake up but we just don't know."

Rhodey quickly grabbed Tony before he completely collapsed. Pepper held May as she let out a sob. 

"Can we see him?" Rhodey asked quietly and Tony was torn between the need to see his child and wanting to run ten miles away. He didn't want to see the usually energetic boy lying so still. He knew he had to though, knew he had to be there for Peter.

"Yes, you can see him." Cho said. "I know there will be at least one of you with him at a time so I had him put in the personalised room with the extra bed and couch. FRIDAY will alert me if there are any changes to his vitals. I'm sorry that I can't do more." She gave a final sad smile before leaving them in silence.

  
  


* * *

_ Hold on, I still want you _

_ Come back, I still need you _

_ Let me take your hand, I'll make it right _

_ I swear to love you all my life _

_ Hold on, I still need you _

_ I don't wanna let go _

_ I know I'm not that strong _

_ I just wanna hear you _

_ Saying baby, let's go home _

_ Let's go home _

_ Yeah, I just wanna take you home _

  
  


Tony sat in an armchair at Peter's side, fighting against sleep. He had the younger hero's hand in his, holding to it like it was a lifeline. On Peter's other side May did the same. She had finally fallen asleep, silvery tear tracks still visible on her cheeks.

Pepper and Rhodey had gone upstairs saying that Peter needed May and Tony more than them and that they had to sort out a few things after rushing off. As they left Tony had heard Rhodey tell Pepper that he would get the bathroom sorted out. She told him to just throw everything out and she would get it replaced.

Tony glanced at Peter and decided that he would get the entire bathroom remodelled. 

He gave a tired sighed. "I should have been here, Kid." his eyes burned from exhaustion. "I'm so sorry." He murmured tiredly.

He shifted in his seat, getting into a more comfortable position. He made sure that he was still gripping Peter's hand and that he wasn't pulling the boy's arm in any funny directions.

Content that the boy was as comfortable as he could be considering the situation, he let himself succumb to the call of sleep.

-

The following days were spent in a grief-filled suspense. All of them desperate for a change in Peter's condition that just wasn't happening.

Tony and May spent as many hours as they could with him. Eventually, May couldn't put off going back to work and Tony just brought the projects and paperwork he could with him to Peter's room.

Tony tossed aside a contract he'd been trying in vain to concentrate on. He rubbed a hand over his face and looked next to him at Peter. Tony knew that there wasn't anything medically wrong with the boy, he'd just retreated into the depths of his mind to keep himself safe. It was up to Peter to come back. He rested a hand over the boy's curls.

"Please don't give up, Pete," Tony heard himself say quietly, "Please fight. I can't promise that you'll miraculously be okay and happy, even if I wish I could, I can't promise that it won't be fucking hard to get past this… but I can promise that I'll be here, that we al will. I want you back. I want to hear your rambling and your movie rants. I want to laugh at your science puns and jokes. I want to have lab days and movie nights. I just want  _ you _ . I miss you, Peter."

He gave a sad smile before continuing. "I miss you but it doesn't change anything. If you can't bring yourself to come back. If you need to rest and be happy… it's ok. I understand and I'm proud of you. If what you need is to fall away peacefully then I want you to know that it's alright. We will all miss you but we'll be okay. I just want you to know that I'm here, sweetheart and that I love you." He brushed a hand over Peter's curls before he pulled his hand away. He settled into a better position and glanced at his kid another time.

Tony picked up his papers, the steady beeping of the heart monitor comforting him.

He missed Peter and wanted him home but he would wait for as long as it took.

* * *

_ Hold on, I still want you _

_ Come back, I still need you _

A steady beeping, as well as a buzzing in his ears, are the first things that registered to Peter.

He felt a weight on his hands and managed to crack his eyes open slightly.

There were hands lightly holding his own. He followed them up and saw that they belonged to May and Tony.

He knew that he had a long road ahead of him, knew that this wasn't suddenly some turn around to his problems. Not calling someone would always be one of his biggest regrets.

He looked to his aunt and  mentor dad and let a smile cross his face. He had so much to live for. 

He let himself fall back asleep, comforted by the knowledge that they would be there when he woke.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you guys think. It would literally cheer me up so much!


	26. Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this is already the last chapter! I've had a lot of fun writing this and I'm sad that it's over (even though I cant wait for the break from writing!)
> 
> I literally cannot believe that I actually wrote 26 chapters and over 23,000 words!  
> Going from having barely written before to having a oneshot and an entire febuwhump/febufluff is mind blowing to me!
> 
> I wanna give a massive shout out and so many hugs to @scooter3scooter and @itsreallylaterightnow for being so so helpful and encouraging through all of this!  
> I wouldn't have been able to do a fraction of this without them!
> 
> I literally love you guys so much! I probably wouldn't have ever found the courage to actually write anything let alone post it if I didn't have you!  
> Thank you so much.
> 
> And also thank to the others who left comments, kudos, and who bookmarked this! I'm blown away by the response that this has had!
> 
> Hugs,  
> Agrafina 
> 
> (This chapter is inspired by the amazing series Broken Wings by the equally amazing Snarkymuch so go check that out!)

Peter would always be different. He would always be followed by dirty looks, sneers, and hurtful comments. 

People would shy away from him and parents would tell their children "Don't go near his kind, sweetheart, they're evil beings." 

He can't count the times that things had been thrown at him, how many times someone had hurt him. When he was younger other kids would trip him as he walked past and throw stones at him.

And all of it was because of his wings. Because he was a raven.

  
  


* * *

He used to love his wings, was proud of them even, but that steadily changed as the years went by. His parents used to tell him that they were beautiful, used to preen and oil each feather with so much care that his dark wings would shimmer in different shades of blue, purple, and green when the light hit them right.

He used to love his wings... until he didn't.

It was because of his wings, because of him, that his parents died. They were going to a science convention if anyone other than Ben and May asked. Except they weren't, they were flying to a raven gathering being held in a hidden valley somewhere. Richard and Mary had wanted Peter to meet his own wingmates, to experience flying without having to look over his shoulder in case someone saw him.

They never got to see it.

* * *

He lost Ben because of his wings too. They'd had an argument because Peter had said something about wishing he had no wings instead of being a raven. Of being a death omen.

He ran off, Ben came after him. 

He let the bodega thief go.

His uncle left dead on the tarmac because of it.

Peter never let anyone see his wings again. Not even May.

  
  


* * *

Peter's shoulders and joints ached with the need to fly. To truly stretch is wings for once, not just as far as he could in the safety of his room when he tried to preen his wings.

His wings hadn't been oiled or preened properly since Ben had done it just days before he died. It was hard to reach all of the feathers across your wings so oftentimes a family member would help in the preening process. It was beneficial to both parties as well because it helped form and cement bonds if you had someone you trust help care for your wings, letting them be seen and touched was incredibly important. 

Which is another reason that Peter was struggling so much. He hadn't let May touch his wings, or even touch him much since Ben. Hadn't had a hug since that night either.

He helped May with her wings and would sometimes hold her hand. That was as much as he allowed himself.

He was touch starved and he knew that it had finally started affecting him. But he couldn't do anything about it, wouldn't let his aunt know because he couldn't lose her as well. 

He hid it and he hid it well. 

Until he didn't.

  
  


* * *

He walked into the lab at the compound on a Friday after school. He stayed with Mr Stark once a month from Friday until Monday when the man would drop him at school in the morning.

He couldn't quite stop the tremors in his shoulders. It had been a rough day even before he read the message from Ned saying that he was homesick. Peter didn't even have his other friend as MJ had left on Thursday night for a protest she wanted to go to. Flash had narrowed in on the fact and his torments had been on form. Then he made a comment about Peter's parents and Ben dying because he was useless and it was the only way that they could be rid of him.

He walked into the lab, wings and tears both wanting to burst forth. Tony immediately put his tools down and got up, his own deep red, slightly scarred wings sitting against his back. The man pulled him into a hug and wrapped his wings around them when he felt Peter trembling.

Peter hadn't been hugged like this in years. Hadn't felt safe in an embrace in so long.

It was what finally pushed him over the edge.

His tears fell and his trembling increased as he tried to hold his wings in. He was terrified of what his mentor would say if he found out he was a raven. That he was dark.

Tony rubbed a hand in gentle circles between Peter's shoulder blades right above where his wings were hidden. "You can let them out," he said, "It's okay."

The teen sobbed as he shook his head in the man's neck. "I ca- can't! You'll hate m- me!" He cried. He couldn't let Tony see them, couldn't lose someone else because of his wings.

Tony could feel his heart break. "I will _never_ hate you. Never." He said vehemently, drawing back to look into Peter's eyes before he pulled him back into a hug.

"I already know what you are sweetheart," he whispered into the boy's hair. "I don't care what people say, you are not an omen. You are an amazing person with beautiful wings, kid. I don't want you hurting anymore, I don't want you to hide from who you are."

Peter looked into Tony's eyes as if looking for something. He seemed to have found it because he took a breath before pulling away slightly from the man's embrace, immediately mourning the loss of warmth from his wings.

He stood up and backed away a few steps. He looked at the man again, saw the absolute love, trust, and adoration in his eyes before dropping his head. He took the leap before he lost his courage and let his wings fall open in front of someone for the first time in years. 

He heard a soft gasp but kept his head down, afraid to see the fear and disgust on the face of the man he looked up to and admired so much.

There was footsteps and a rustling before he felt his chin being lifted. He met the eyes of his mentor and he only saw love and acceptance. 

Tony moved one of his wings to slide gently across the edge of one of Peter's, asking for permission. When the younger's wing twitched up slightly he let his wings slide around to lay across the back of Peter's own like a blanket.

The boy felt a tension that he hadn't realised was even there flow from his shoulders. He lent into his mentor's embrace letting out a quiet whimper.

The man only gave a smile as he pulled him in tighter. "Would you let me preen them?" He asked gently as he brushed a hand over the top of the one dark wing. "You don't have to say yes I just thought you might like to have all of your feathers straight. I know that a lot of them are pinching."

"You would do that?" Peter asked in slight awe. He wished that he could feel comfortable with his wings.

"Of course. I just want you to be okay and comfortable." Tony replied.

Peter didn't know what to think. He was so scared of letting May close to his wings but here he was with his wings out and in a feather hold with Tony Stark of all people.

Maybe this would help him feel comfortable in his feathers and letting May in again.

"Please." He answered softly.

* * *

Peter had followed Tony up to the penthouse and into a room he hadn't been in before. It was a big room with glass for the walls and the ceiling, golden light from the sun spilling across the floor was filled with mattresses, pillows, and blankets. On one side of the room was a beautiful preening chair situated so that the mattresses still surrounded it leaving the entire floor with room for pillows and blankets.

Tony pulled him towards the chair, informing him that the glass was one-sided so no one was able to see in.

Peter settled across the chair on his stomach, his wings tucked tightly, but not hidden, against his back as his nervousness grew.

The older hero rested a hand over Peter's curls, "You don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable or ready ya know?" He said gently, "You don't have to feel obligated to let me do this."

Peter nodded with a quiet almost sad look on his face. "I know… I want to. I want to be able to open my wings and trust again. I'm tired of being scared and hurt." He slowly spread his wings, letting them hand over the sides and across the fluffy pillows and blankets spread around.

Tony gave him a proud smile. The fact that Peter trusted him like this was mind-blowing to him. "If this becomes too much or you get uncomfortable just tell me to stop and I will." He said before hovering a hand over the dark feathers spread before him. "I'm going to start with straightening them and pulling the loose feathers. That alright?"

When he received a nod he let his hand gently run over the backs of the wings, feeling for loose feathers before gently pulling them and dropping them in a basket that Peter only noticed now. He felt Peter relax as he got used to the feeling of someone preening his wings again. Tony slowly and carefully straightened feathers, oiled them, and just ran his hand in comforting lines across the length of the dark wings before him. 

About an hour after he started he heard Peter's breathing even out as his wings slid into a further relaxed position in his sleep. Tony smiled, so grateful that he had this opportunity to show his kid that he didn't have to be scared of touch and of his wings.

He carried on running his hands over the feathers until he was absolutely sure that there wasn't a feather out of place and that they were oiled all over. He stepped back and took his first proper look at Peter's wings.

He'd thought that they were beautiful before, now they were stunning. The feathers in perfect lines together, shone in the sunlight streaming in the room. The purple, green, and blue shimmer was vivid after being oiled.

Tony felt a tear fall. How could someone so beautiful and amazing be treated so badly? He would never understand it. 

He shook his head, pushing the morose thoughts away. He asked FRIDAY to order their usual from Peter's favourite pizza place before he picked up the feather filled basket. He'd go and get rid of the feathers and then the pizzas should arrive. 

Tony wondered if Peter would like the chance to fly in his flight/multi-level gym. He could even take him upstate to the secluded fields and forests behind the compound.

FRIDAY informed him of the food's arrival and he went to fetch it. As he walked back towards Peter he told himself to relax. They had plenty of time for Peter to get used to being open with his wings. 

He knew that he and May would do anything for the stubborn spider child, they just had to make him comfortable with actually letting them. He promised himself that he would help them wherever he could.

He smiled when he walked into the sunroom and saw Peter still sprawled out in his sleep. He was doing that a lot lately. Smiling. It was nice.

  
  
  



End file.
